¡¡¡¡TOKYO, Nov. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- The Farm Ministry has decided to ask the United States not to allow its local meat processors to export Canadian beef to Japan due to concerns about mad cow disease.

¡¡¡¡According to the Kyodo News on Sunday, the Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry will ask the United States to lookinto its domestic meat processing industry and determine whether meat products produced in the United States contain Canadian beef.

¡¡¡¡The ministry will make the request in response to a recent US decision to resume import of veal early next year from Canada, where a cow in Alberta was discovered to have mad cow disease in May.

¡¡¡¡Both Japan and the United States imposed bans on Canadian cattle and beef imports immediately after the discovery of mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

¡¡¡¡To bar Canadian beef from entering Japan via the United States,Japan has asked the United States for a beef product certification system, the Kyodo News said.

¡¡¡¡Under the system introduced in September, the US Agriculture Department issues certificates to meat exporters if their productsare made only from cattle slaughtered in the United States. Enditem