Posted April. 30, 2012 07:06,
The U.S. ambassador to Korea, Sung Kim, says he and his family will continue to eat American beef on a regular basis despite the dispute over whether to halt imports of the meat in the wake of the latest case of mad cow disease in the U.S.
On his personal blog All about Sung Kim, he said Thursday, We have full confidence in the safety of U.S. meat, which is monitored constantly under the worlds strongest food safety regimen.
Commenting on the first case of the disease in the U.S. in six years, Kim also explained in detail that the infected cow was more than 30 months old and thus had no possibility of being shipped to Korea. He added that the animal was to be processed into non-food products like soap or chemicals and that the U.S. promptly notified the Korean Embassy in Washington of the matter.
This isolated incident does not alter in any way the health and safety status of U.S. meat under international standards, Kim said.
The Korean-American ambassador said, however, We take this situation very seriously and are taking every measure to ensure the safety of U.S. meat for consumers not just in Korea, but for our own citizens and the millions of consumers of American beef all over the world.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will conduct a comprehensive epidemiological investigation, and will be working closely with the Korean government and others to provide additional information.