Japan to relax restrictions on U.S. beef imports (The Japan Times) Japan, once the largest buyer of U.S. beef, will take further steps to relax curbs on American beef imports first imposed in 2003 after the discovery of mad cow disease in Washington state, a... Read more ... [News Source]

US beef import. Korean consumers are very sensitive about the safety of American beef regarding possible cases of mad cow disease, and their anxiety is growing. The U.S. needs to take strong measures to guarantee beef safety. [News Source]

S. Korea resumes quarantine inspection of U.S. beef. South Korea resumed its quarantine inspections of U.S. beef on Monday, nearly a month after it suspended them following the discovery of a cow backbone in a package. [News Source]

New prion protein discovery may shed light on mad-cow disease (ANI via Yahoo! India News) London, August 27 (ANI): Canadian scientists have discovered a new prion protein, a breakthrough that could both help clarify how prion diseases like Creutzfeldt-Jakob or mad-cow disease devastate the brain as well as offer fresh insights into brain function in other neurodegenerative diseases. Prion diseases wipe out the brain when an imperfectly folded version of a prion protein called PrP ... [News Source]

Japan to Take Further Steps to Relax U.S. Beef Curbs (Update1) (Bloomberg.com) Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Japan, once the largest buyer of U.S. beef, will take further steps to relax curbs on American imports of the commodity first imposed in 2003 after the discovery of mad-cow disease in Washington State, a government official said. [News Source]