Enlarge imageSEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea said on Friday it would relax regulations on importing U.S. beef, as Washington has agreed to improve its safety standards by toughening animal feed regulations.
South Korea’s farm ministry said in a statement that imports of U.S. beef will be expanded gradually and it would allow in imports of bone-in beef from cattle under 30 months as a first step.
South Korea, once the third-largest import market for U.S. beef, currently imports only boneless beef from U.S. cattle younger than 30 months because of a mad cow disease outbreak in the United States more than four years ago.
It will also allow in U.S. beef from cattle older than 30 months, once the United States improves its safety standards.
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But imports of so-called specified risk material such as brain or spinal material, which is considered to have a higher risk of carrying bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), will be excluded, it said.
(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Keiron Henderson)
