For the first time in 15 years, Danish food exporters will be able to sell Danish beef on the Japanese market, according to the Food Ministry.

Japan has lifted its ban on Danish beef, which was imposed on imports of beef from the EU in the wake of the mad cow disease concerns that erupted in Europe in the late 1990s.

“The Japanese have a very high standard of food security, and it is a big result for Denmark that we are one of the first EU nations that can once against export beef to Japan,” said the food minister, Eva Kjer Hansen.

“It’s an important step in the plan we have set up to increase the export of Danish quality goods to the gigantic Asian market, and I want to push for nations like Vietnam and South Korea to follow in the footsteps of Japan.”

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125 million consumers
Last year the Japanese health and food authorities visited Danish beef producers and the food product authority Fødevarestyrelsen in order to inspect how Denmark works with consumer and food product safety.

So far, ten Danish companies are prepared for the extraordinary inspections by Fødevarestyrelsen in order to document that they live up to Japanese demands and thus obtain the certificates required to export to Japan.

The lifting of the beef ban now means Danish companies can have access to some 125 million consumers in the Japanese market.