South Korea on Friday said it would suspend imports of beef from a Hastings, Nebraska packing plant after inspectors found three bone fragments in a shipment. The bone content is a violation of a trade agreement related to mad cow disease.
This came a week after Seoul suspended U.S. beef imports from a Kansas slaughterhouse after a piece of bone was found in a shipment.
South Korea resumed imports of U.S. beef in January and the first shipments arrived last month. However, none has reached store shelves pending a rigorous quarantine process.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is dealing with its own beef imports-- this time from Canada. USDA wants to increase cattle and beef imports from the northern neighbor and is weighing risks of importing older Canadian cattle following the discovery of mad cow over the summer. The Agriculture Department sent its plan to expand Canadian cattle imports to the White House for final consideration.