[ Home | Newsletter | Products | Customers| Shopping | Network | About Us ]
Japanese version, please click here.
MLT Newsletter
	December 2001
Supermarkets in California Serving Natural & Organic Foods

Headlines

Yoshikei Kaihatu Ltd., a product development body of the Yoshikei Group, one of the leading home catering operators in Japan, has now introduced a new product using Petaluma's Rocky the Natural Chicken. It is seasoned with sesame seeds mixed with a variety of vegetables and mushrooms. The  zip-bag contains an easy-to-cook and just a warm up is needed before serving. Your table is ready for this tasty and healthy chicken from California 

 
This product is developed by Yoshikei Kaihatsu, Ltd.

Yoshikei's Web Site(in Japanese)

-Japan Times December 3, 2001

All three mad cows probably fed same formula: investigators MAEBASHI, Gunma Pref. (Kyodo) All three cows in Japan that were diagnosed with mad cow disease had apparently been fed a milk substitute from the same factory, according to a probe by the Gunma prefectural government held over the weekend. However, it is unclear if the finding will lead to finding the source of the infection because the manufacturer says the substitute does not contain meat-and-bone meal (MBM), the suspected source of the disease, formally called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.

The Hokkaido farmers who raised the first two cows found to be infected with BSE in September and November said they were fed with the substitute produced at a factory in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, that is run by Scientific Feed Laboratory Co. The Miyagi, Gunma Prefecture, farmer who raised the third cow, which was found to be infected on Friday, said he had used milk substitute but does not remember the name of the maker.

On Sunday, a panel of health ministry experts formally confirmed that the cow was infected with the disease. The Gunma prefectural government suspects the substitute was also from the factory as the maker is a major supplier of feed to agricultural cooperatives. The Miyagi farmer said he bought all his feed from a local farm cooperative. The substitute, usually given to calves up to 7 weeks old, is mainly made of skim milk powder and contains plasma proteins made from pigs and beef tallow, according to the maker.

Experts say there had been cases in Britain, where BSE was first detected in 1986, in which calves were infected from milk substitute containing MBM. The Gunma government began full investigations Saturday to find the source of mad cow disease in the prefecture after the discovery of Japan's third case of BSE. Prefectural government officials met the farmer in Miyagi who raised the Holstein dairy cow. They found he currently has 68 cows, but none of them shows any symptoms of the disease.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced the latest BSE case Friday. The Holstein was slaughtered in Saitama Prefecture. According to the ministry, all three cows were Holsteins born in the spring of 1996. Given the closeness of their birthdays, the ministry hopes the route of infection may be determined by checking feed. Dairy farmers who raised the animals say they did not give them MBM, a protein feed made from the crushed internal organs, skin and bones of cows and other animals.

Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers said they have drafted an emergency bill to deal with BSE and help farmers, distributors and the processing industry affected by the disease. The Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party, the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party aim to submit the bill at the beginning of the regular Diet session to be convened in January. The legislation, which would be effective until the end of fiscal 2006, would require the government to purchase infected or suspect cows and MBM at prices they would have commanded before BSE was confirmed in Japan in September. It calls for such animals to be slaughtered and incinerated. Human consumption of infected beef is thought to cause a new variant of the fatal human disorder Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. BSE has led to the deaths of more than 100 people in Europe.

---

-CNN: December 11, 2001

TOKYO, Japan -- Japan appears to be struggling to contain the spread of mad cow disease after officials revealed a suspected fourth case of the brain-wasting disease has been discovered, this time in the west of the country. A 40-month-old Holstein cow slaughtered at a meat-processing center in Tsuyama, 600 kilometers (340 miles) west of Tokyo, tested positive in an initial examination, local government official Shinichi Hanaoka told the Associated Press Tuesday

 .............. further details, please visit to CNN site at 

http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/12/11/japan.madcow/index.html

---

-BBC News Online: December 14, 2001

Japan is to incinerate about 13,000 tonnes of beef in an attempt to allay public fears over BSE or mad cow disease. The beef, which is already in storage, was produced before the introduction of a nationwide screening scheme for the fatal brain-wasting illness. Reports say it will cost an estimated $160m to destroy the beef, which was all processed before 18 October. 

. .............. further details, please visit to BBC News site at

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1711000/1711390.stm

-Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
 Number 435 December 7, 2001

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Temporary Suspension of Import of Poultry and their Products from the U.S.A.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. MAFF has received information from the U.S. embassy in Tokyo that a sero-positive case of avian influenza sero-type (H7N2) was found on a poultry farm in Connecticut, U.S., as the result of a seriological test for avian influenza (AI). 

2. According to Japan's Animal Infectious Diseases Control Law, any cases involving avian influenza virus sero-type H5, H7 and other highly pathogenic types are considered to be fowl plague. The Animal Quarantine Service was placed on full alert to ward against the statutory diseases because of their devastating effects.

3. MAFF decided to suspend the import of poultry and their products from the U.S., effective November 9, 2001, until scientific evidence was obtained showing that the U.S. is free from foul plague.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lifting of Import Suspension of Poultry and their Products from the U.S.A
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Importation of poultry and their products from the U.S. has been suspended since November 9, 2001, when MAFF received information from the U.S. embassy in Tokyo that, although there was no report of an outbreak of Avian Influenza (AI), there had been a report of sero-positive status for avian influenza sero-type (H7N2) at a poultry farm in Connecticut. The measure was intended to be in place until the U.S. is confirmed free from fowl plague.

2. MAFF has decided to remove the import suspension because it can be concluded that, as of today, the case is not fowl plague. The decision was made after thorough consideration of all the information MAFF has collected or that has been submitted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. embassy in Tokyo, especially the fact that the fowl plague virus was not isolated from a number of chickens which had been tested and that there had been no suspected fowl plague cases at other farms in Connecticut.

For further information, please contact the Animal Health Division of Agricultural Production Bureau at (03) 3502-8111 (ext. 4046, 4051).

---

-MLT has made a fast response to this temporary suspension on poultry import from U.S. above through a concerted action with Kakiuchi in Japan so as to ensure our customers' confidence in a safety of Petaluma Chicken.  It is assured by  letters from California Poultry Association as well as Petaluma Poultry that are listed below.

California Poultry Federation's Letter 
------------------------------------------------------------------

November 12, 2001

Mr. Bob Wolfe
Petaluma Poultry Processors
2700 Lakerville Highway
Petaluma, CA 94955-7368

Dear Mr. Wolfe:

I am writing today as the state official of of the National Poultry Improvement Plan.We administer the Plan from our office under the suspices of the California Poultry Health Board. California Food and Agricultural veterinarians also serve the Board and monitor flocks and hatcheries throughout the year.

Happily, I can inform you that there has been no sign of Avian Influenza in our very large state in 2001, and there has been no outbreak of AI within at least 100 miles of your growing and processing facilities in many, many years.

California poultry products are moving freely throughout the nation and the world right now, and the health of our poultry flocks is superb.

Sincerely,

BILL MATTOS
President

---

Petaluma's Letter assures 100% Safety 
------------------------------------------------------------------

December 6, 2001

Dear Sirs. 

I am in receipt of your inquiry about the use of antibiotics in the production of our chickens. I can say with 100% certainty that Petaluma Poultry never administers antibiotics to any of its chickens.
_ 
For the past 14 years, Petaluma Poultry has produced "Rocky Chicken" without the use of antibiotics, growth promotants hormones of any kind.

Petaluma Poultry takes great pride that it is the largest producer of antibiotic free chickens in the United States.

As you already know, 'Rosie Organic Chicken" is also produced without the use of any antibiotics, growth promotants or hormones of any kind and is certified organic by Oregon Tilth.

If you have any questions please feel free to call at anytime.

Sincerely 

Randy Duranceau
Petalma Poultry

  "My Turning Point" - An Essay by S. Hosoi

Loyalty & temptation

My father was working for a trading house and he had been in Shanghai before I was born. As my father used to tell me of his experience in China quite often when I was young, I felt strongly and made up my mind to go abroad then when I grew up. I went to Tokyo University of Agriculture. While I was a very active member of the Rugby Football Team, in my junior year, I was selected to be an overseas trainee by International Agriculture Students Association and had a chance to come to Iowa and stay at an American farmer family and to go the college for a year. They are a dairy cow farmer and doing a milking everyday in the morning and at night. When harvesting the corn, I had to work even until 2-3am and it was a very hard one with lots of tears. However, my host family treated me as a true family member and I could have a very good time there although job was real a tough one for me at that time.

After the graduation, I joined with Ataka Corporation, one of the leading trading houses in Japan. After working there for 6 years, Ataka was absorbed by Itochu Corporation and the most of the Ataka members were broken up. I happened to join then with Kamei Corporation, who has a headquarter in Sendai, Japan, and I was transferred to their Los Angeles office in the same year. Kamei is a large petroleum dealer/trader and I was not only involved in such a petroleum business but also started a beef export business to Japan which was quite a new business to Kamei. I started this beef export business in 1978 and reached the annual sales of $100 million at the peak, which was more than 60% of the entire business operation of Kamei.

While such an export business to Japan from U.S. was growing, I opened up also other overseas offices in Taipei, Singapore, Sydney and Vancouver and sent those officers who worked with me in Los Angeles office as a top of each offices. During such a business development time, I had a very interesting experience. One of my major beef supplier, who was a Jewish American, showed his interest in hiring me and sent me a pay-check every month which amount was 20 times than I earned then from Kamei. As I was so loyal to my employer, I declined to accept such checks every time. Then, he said to me "I understood such a loyalty is a very important Japanese virtue, but, unless you become rich enough, you cannot do other people a favor. As long as you are working for someone, you will not be able to be rich enough to do so." I thought his words were nothing but temptation only.

Appreciation and love

I was very busy in developing petroleum and beef business based in Los Angels in 80's, but I got a new assignment from the company to go back to Japan in 1992. I believed that I would be transferred to the Trading Division in Tokyo, but my new position assigned was its Head Quarter in Sendai. Over there, I was involved in a joint venture project with the City of Sendai also the Miyagi Prefecture and other local government offices to plan an international airport and water harbor there. At the meetings of such committee, I had rather little opportunity to express my view which was happened to be different from others. Or even to say my frank opinion, which I learned in U.S. during my 15 years stay, appeared rather prohibitive. In addition, Sendai is a very conservative area and most people told me that this is not a city of United States! While I was in U.S over a decade, I thought that Japan was changing as many years went by. But nothing had changed in the past 15 years and I thought it would never even after 30 years.

A quarter century had already passed since I started my career at that time, so I thought it would be a good chance for me to start my own business. I came back to Los Angeles after spending almost half a year to have my employer and fellow colleagues agree to my independence plan. First item I tried after starting and refreshing my own business here in California was an export of the organic chicken to Japan. I thought such specialized healthy and safe product (different from the other commodity type products) would be able to earn good customers support and approval. I have then approached a leading organic based supplier, Petaluma Poultries Processors in northern California and owner of the supplier, Mr. Allen Shainsky who finally accepted to give me an exclusive agency right in the Japanese market.

I appreciated U.S. who taught me a lot things in my life. I am now thinking about the words from my Jewish friend "being rich" again. I interpreted the word "rich" as "moneymaking' at that time, but now I believe "rich in mind" is another good interpretation. If we do not forget to have an appreciation and love to others, everything will be all right and go on the right track, I believe.

[ Home | Newsletter | Products | Customers| Shopping | Network | About Us ]

Please send your comments and suggestions: hosoi@earthlink.net

back to top

Last update: 2001/12/22

© 2001  MLT International Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Design/management by Brainet Associates, Ltd.