Greeley – Swift & Co., the third-largest U.S. beef producer, said exports of the meat to Japan from its plant in Greeley have been suspended after a box of thymus gland was found in a Swift shipment at the port of Osaka.
While the gland is not considered one of the risk materials for mad cow disease, Swift said the company isn’t licensed to ship the product to Japan. The country began accepting U.S. exports of beef only in July, after banning the meat in December 2003 because of concerns about mad cow disease.
Swift, which is based in Greeley, said beef shipments to Japan from the plant have been halted until the U.S. Department of Agriculture completes an investigation. Japanese officials will also visit the plant to make sure corrective measures are in place, Swift said Wednesday in a statement.
Privately held Swift’s three other beef plants in the U.S. remain eligible to export products to Japan, which purchased more than $1.4 billion in U.S. beef and beef products in 2003.
In July, Hong Kong suspended beef imports from the Greeley plant after banned material – meat with bones – was found in a shipment. Japan in February also temporarily halted shipments from Swift’s plant in Grand Island, Neb., after U.S. inspectors found that some of its procedures didn’t comply with USDA standards.
