U.S. Meat Safety Seminars
Seen As Positive In Japan

DENVER — The U.S. Meat Export Federation launched the trade portion of a major meat safety campaign in Japan recently with the first in a series of meat safety seminars in Tokyo and Osaka. It was standing room only, said USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng, with more than 200 representatives from leading retail, distribution, food service and processing companies attending each seminar.

"We are responding to a very serious situation in Japan where Japanese consumers are questioning the safety of imported meat," said Seng. "Our ultimate goal is to increase their confidence in the safety of our products, so that we can get back to our normal growth pattern in this most important export market. It is absolutely critical that we enlist the Japanese trade in this effort."

An epidemic of bacterial poisoning this summer in Japan has damaged consumer confidence in the safety of a number of food items, including fish, raw vegetables, and imported meat. Although the Japanese government speculates that contaminated radish sprouts were the most likely cause of the initial outbreak, the government has been unable to pinpoint the actual cause. This uncertainty, Seng explained, has created an anxiety and skepticism among Japanese consumers about the safety of imported meat.

"We need to do more than just say that U.S. meat is safe," said Seng. "This message is important, of course, but there needs to be a positive industry response for consumers to be confident that what they are buying is safe."

According to Seng, other aspects of the meat safety campaign, such as consumer advertising and the public relations work that has been underway for some time, will target consumers directly. The trade portion of the campaign, however, will help ensure that U.S. meat is as safe when it reaches the consumer as it is when it leaves the manufacturing plant in the United States.

In a recent consumer attitude survey in Japan, 90 percent of those surveyed said safety was one of the most important factors in deciding what food to buy, second only to freshness. In the same survey, only 14 percent of the

respondents were confident that U.S. beef was safe, and 51 percent said they were unsure. In contrast, 88 percent of the respondents believed that beef produced domestically in Japan was safe.

According to Seng, Japanese consumers are switching from imported beef and pork to meat produced domestically. This shift, he explained, is being encouraged by a nationwide campaign which plays on consumer concerns about imported products, stressing the safety and quality of domestically produced meat.

"There is a tremendous gap between the public's perception and reality when it comes to food safety," said Seng, "and a public health crisis like the one we had this summer in Japan only makes it worse. Japanese companies have to play a more active role in assuring their customers that U.S. meat is safe."

This, according to Seng, means that consumers need to know, first, that U.S. meat is safe when it leaves the United States and, second, that it has been handled properly once it enters the country.

"There are any number of points in any market where product can be contaminated as a result of improper handling or preparation. The implementation of sound food safety management systems in Japan, such as HACCP, is critical, particularly now with all the bacterial testing being done by private companies and government agencies in Japan."

HACCP, or Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, is a manufacturing process control system designed specifically to prevent contamination, not just to determine whether it has occurred. The system is science-based and unique to every sector, company and operation. The USMEF is working with the Institute of Food Science & Engineering at Texas A&M University and the International Meat and Poultry HACCP Alliance to develop HACCP models for the retail, foodservice and distribution sectors in Japan.

The initiative has been well received, with many of the companies attending the recent seminars in Tokyo and Osaka reporting that they planned to develop and implement HACCP programs to improve food safety and help restore consumer confidence. In addition, the HACCP-based approach to food safety was recently endorsed by Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Dr. H. Russell Cross, executive director of the International Meat and Poultry HACCP Alliance, was a key presenter in the meat safety seminars in Japan. "HACCP is important because it sets priorities and controls

potential hazards in food production," he explained. "By controlling food risks — such as microbiological, chemical and physical hazards — the industry can better assure consumers that its products are as safe as good science and technology will allow."

Seng added that a new product liability law to go into effect next year in Japan will keep food safety issues on the front burner for both U.S. and Japanese companies. It is important, he explained, that Japanese consumers understand what is being done to improve meat safety in Japan. The USMEF program envisions that a food safety or process certification seal will be developed for participating companies. These companies will use this special seal to publicize and promote the extra measures that are being taken to ensure safe meat.

While most in the trade already understand that the United States has the highest standards and the best record in the world when it comes to producing safe meat, stressed Seng, "these seminars are an excellent opportunity for us to reinforce the merits of our meat safety system and the fact that U.S. meat is safe and wholesome."

One-third of the companies attending the USMEF seminars in Tokyo and Osaka said their confidence in the safety of U.S. meat had been raised as a result of the information they received during the seminar.

"The lessons we're learning in Japan will certainly help us in other markets," said Seng. USMEF conducted a similar meat safety/HACCP awareness seminar later in Seoul, South Korea, where news of the bacterial poisoning in Japan has raised consumer concerns about the safety of imported meat in Korea as well.