Japan Halts Beef Imports from Wisconsin Plant

TOKYO — Japan has suspended imports from a former Smithfield Beef Group meatpacking plant in Wisconsin after it found meat that could not be verified as coming from cattle aged 20 months or less, the farm ministry said on Thursday.

The Japanese ministry said it had asked the United States to look into the matter, adding that imports from the Green Bay plant that shipped the cargo would be halted until it received a report on the issue.

It said the meat was issued an export health certificate from the plant on October 27, a few days after the business was sold by the Smithfield Foods Inc group to Brazilian beef company JBS SA in October for $565 million.

JBS said it is investigating and is "working with both the U.S. and Japanese agencies to resolve the matter."

Quarantine officials spotted a discrepancy in one package of a six-tonne cargo of frozen beef tongue from the U.S. plant that arrived in Japan on November 17, the ministry said in a statement.

Source: Reuters