Japan wants to change the law so that beef sold in Japan from Japanese breeds such as wagyu (better know as Kobe beef) will in the future be allowed only to carry such names if the cows were reared in Japan.
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The farm ministry said it also intends to patent the genetic makeup of purebred Japanese cattle to prevent impure, cross-bred or foreign cattle from masquerading as the real thing.
The ministry plans for a change in the labelling law, which presently allows imports to use such names as Wagyu and Sayaguesa – another high cost Japanese beef.
