By Roberta Rampton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boneless beef from older U.S. cattle will be eligible for shipment to Taiwan, the sixth-largest U.S. beef customer, for the first time in six years, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service posted regulations on the Internet that clarify Taiwan's import rules. Until now, only boneless beef from cattle 30 months or younger was allowed. Bone-in beef, such as ribs and T-bone steaks, are prohibited.
Last month, Taiwan announced it had agreed to a new protocol with the United States that would lift all restrictions on U.S. beef products.
The decision sparked a political crisis for Taiwan's government. A senior Taiwanese official issued a public apology this week over the "public panic" caused by the beef issue.
USDA stopped approval of beef for export to Taiwan while seeking information on the new beef regulations.
In its update on products eligible for export, USDA listed, "Deboned beef derived from (1) cattle born and raised in the United States, (2) cattle raised in the United States for at least 100 days prior to slaughter, or (3) cattle legally imported into the United States from a country deemed eligible by Taiwan to export deboned beef to Taiwan."
Australia and New Zealand are allowed to export deboned beef to Taiwan, it said.
If cattle from Canada are fed in the United States for less than 100 days before slaughter, only boneless beef from cattle less than 30 months of age is eligible to go to Taiwan, said USDA.
As a transition measure, U.S. exporters will ship only boneless beef from younger cattle. USDA has set up a voluntary verification program to assure beef from participating plants meets that age limit.
Taiwan has limited imports of U.S. beef since the United States found its first case of mad cow disease in December 2003.
It was the first Asian country to lift its ban on U.S. beef in April 2005, to allow boneless beef from cattle under the age of 30 months.
Taiwan is the sixth-largest market for U.S. beef this year, buying $85 million worth of beef, with a target of $125 million in shipments by the end of the year, said a U.S. Meat Export Federation official.
(Additional reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
