Questions and Answers:

The Importation of

Boneless Beef From Japan

Q. Why did the United States develop a final rule

to allow the importation of boneless beef from

Japan?

A. Japan requested that the U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA) consider allowing the resumption

of beef imports from Japan into the United States

based on the safeguards that country has 

implemented to prevent and control bovine 

spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

Q. How long has the United States prohibited the

importation of beef products from Japan?

A. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service (APHIS) has prohibited the importation of

ruminants and most ruminant products from Japan

since September 10, 2001, when APHIS added

Japan to its list of regions where BSE exists. That

action was prompted by the confirmation of BSE in a

native-born animal in Japan. As of July 2005, Japan

had reported a total of 20 cases of BSE, including

the initial case in September 2001. At the time of the

ban, Japan exported primarily fresh/chilled boneless

cuts of beef.

Q. Did USDA conduct a risk analysis before issuing the proposed rule?

A. Yes. The decision to issue a proposed rule was

based on a thorough risk analysis conducted by

APHIS. The risk analysis evaluated the impact on

animal health and included a detailed consideration

of the human health implications conducted by

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

As part of the risk analyses, USDA considered and

reviewed the extensive research that has been conducted on BSE. All comments received on the proposal, including any on the risk analysis, were evaluated and considered before issuing the final rule. No

changes were made to the risk analysis before the

final rule was issued. This final rule will provide for

the importation of whole cuts of boneless beef from

Japan while continuing to protect the United States

against the introduction of BSE.

Q. What conditions are required under the final

rule in order to export boneless beef to the

United States?

A. The final rule will allow for the importation of

whole cuts of boneless beef that are derived from

cattle born, raised, and slaughtered in Japan, provided the following conditions are met:

• The beef is prepared in an establishment that is 

eligible to have its products imported to the 

United States under the Federal Meat Inspection 

Act (FMIA). The FMIA is enforced by FSIS and 

ensures that countries eligible to export meat to 

the United States have an inspection system that

is equivalent to the U.S. meat inspection system.

This includes the following requirements:

—Specified-risk materials (SRMs) must be 

completely removed from the carcass, 

segregated from edible product, and disposed of 

in an appropriate manner. Under FSIS’

regulations, SRMs include the brain, spinal cord, 

vertebral column (excluding the vertebrae of the 

tail, the transverse process of the thoracic and 

lumbar vertebrae, and the wings of the sacrum), 

trigeminal ganglia, dorsal root ganglia, skull and 

eyes of cattle 30 months of age and older, and 

the tonsils and the distal ileum of cattle of any 

age. BSE studies have clearly demonstrated that

these locations are the primary sites for BSE 

accumulation in cattle. Because BSE infectivity 

has never been detected in muscle tissue, the 

most important mitigation measure for whole cuts

of boneless beef is the careful removal and 

segregation of SRMs.

—A prohibition on the use of air-injection 

stunning. The use of captive-bolt stunners injects

air into the cranium of cattle, which may force 

pieces of the brain and other central nervous 

system (CNS) tissue into the circulatory system 

of stunned cattle.

• The beef is derived from cattle that are not 

subjected to a pithing process at slaughter.

Pithing involves the insertion of an elongated rodshaped instrument into the cranial cavity of a 

stunned animal to further lacerate the CNS 

tissue. This process could cause the 

dissemination of CNS tissue throughout the body

of the animal during slaughter. This stunning 

method is banned in the European Union and 

has never been used in the United States.

Factsheet

Veterinary Services December 2005

APHIS
• The mitigation measures must be verified on an 

original certificate issued by an authorized 

veterinary official of the Government of Japan.

Q. Is the final rule in line with international guidelines for trade with countries that have BSE?

A. Yes. International guidelines for trade in animal

and animal products are developed by the World

Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The 2005 OIE

guidelines on BSE provide for trade in bovine meat

and meat products from countries of any risk status,

including an undetermined risk status. This acknowledges the inherently low risk presented by muscle

meat, with appropriate controls on SRM removal and

stunning methods to prevent cross-contamination.

The OIE guidelines provide for three possible BSE

classifications for an exporting country, zone, or

region: negligible risk, controlled risk, and undetermined risk. The export conditions for meat and meat

products are increasingly stringent as the status of a

region moves from negligible risk through controlled

risk to undetermined risk. The proposed import conditions for whole cuts of boneless beef from Japan,

including the requirements that beef come from an

establishment eligible to export meat to the United

States under the FMIA, are consistent with OIE’s critieria for meat exported from controlled-risk regions.

Q. What scientific evidence provides a basis for

the required conditions?

A. Research has demonstrated BSE infectivity in only

a few tissues of cattle. These tissues are primarily in

the CNS—brain and spinal cord—but also include

such tissues as dorsal root ganglia, certain parts of

the small intestine, and the tonsils. This knowledge

has been used to develop effective, proven strategies

for the removal of these tissues from animals of

appropriate age so that these tissues do not enter the

food chain. It’s important to note that BSE studies in

cattle have not detected infectivity in any tissues outside of those listed. This means that BSE infectivity

has never been found in boneless beef, which is what

will be eligible for importation under the final rule. The

import conditions established under the final rule,

including the removal of SRMs, are based on scientific research and in combination are effective in allowing for the safe importation of boneless beef from

Japan into the United States.

Q. Under the final rule, what types of boneless

beef would be imported from Japan? 

A. First, it is important to note that all types of boneless beef that meet the requirement stated in the final

rule will be equally safe in regard to BSE. Although

we do not know exactly what will be imported, based

on past records we expect that the vast majority of

imports will be from Wagyu cattle. The term “Wagyu”

literally translates to Japanese cattle, and refers to

purebred Japanese Black or Japanese Brown breeds

of cattle. Wagyu beef is a high-priced specialty meat

widely acclaimed for its flavor and tenderness. Many

people refer to it as Kobe beef because Wagyu cattle

are raised an area near the city of Kobe. Based on

economics, we expect primarily Wagyu beef to be

imported under the final rule.

Q. What economic impact will this final rule have

on U.S. consumers?

A. The final rule will have little or no economic impact

on the majority of U.S. consumers and beef producers

because the volume of beef imported from Japan is

likely to be small and have only a minor impact on the

overall domestic beef market. APHIS estimates that

the total volume of imports will likely range between

about 8 metric tons and 15 metric tons per year, a

quantity aligned with import levels in the years immediately prior to the ban. The demand for Japanese

Wagyu beef in the United States will likely be small

because it is expensive. In October 2004, for example, the average selling price of Wagyu sirloin in

Japanese supermarkets was just under $50 per

pound. That price may rise even higher in the United

States because of transportation and other costs

associated with importation of the beef. The only segment of U.S. producers that might potentially be

impacted by this rule would be those farmers and

ranchers who raise Wagyu and Wagyu-hybrid cattle

for the high-end domestic beef market and compete

for the same niche market. The number of these producers is unknown but believed to be very small. The

American Wagyu Association, a Wagyu breeder

group, lists approximately 75 members in the United

States. The final rule, however, will provide benefits to

consumers (e.g., domestic importers, wholesalers,

retailers, and those buying the beef) that will exceed

any potential losses to domestic producers.

Therefore, the overall effect of the final rule will be

positive.
Q. How much beef was imported from Japan prior

to the 2001 ban?

A. Prior to the 2001 ban, imports of Japanese 

boneless beef were negligible when compared to total

imports of that commodity. From 1997 to 2000, for

example, the volume of U.S. imports of fresh/chilled

boneless beef from Japan averaged less than 9 

metric tons per year. This amount was less than

0.005 percent of the average annual U.S. imports of

fresh/chilled boneless beef worldwide during the same

period. The average annual value of beef imports

from Japan during this 4-year period was $808,000.

This amounts to less than 0.2 percent of the average

annual value of all U.S. imports of fresh/chilled 

boneless beef, which averaged $600 million annually

during the same time period. Including frozen 

boneless beef in the comparison during the same 

4-year period would further diminish Japan’s share in

the overall market, to about 0.001 percent of the

quantity and about 0.05 percent of the value of all

U.S. boneless beef imports.

United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture

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