TOKYO — Supermarkets in Japan announced this week that they had removed beef products from their shelves following the discovery of spinal columns in a consignment supplied by National Beef in California.

Spinal columns are designated as a specified risk material for bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE.

According to Daiei Inc., its 333 outlets had beef products from the factory on sale. After removing them, a notice was put up that read, "Taking customers' concerns into consideration, the sale of these products from the concerned packer has been halted until an inspection proves it is safe."

Maruetsu Inc., a Tokyo-based supermarket chain, said its 76 outlets have handled the factory's beef.

A Maruetsu spokesman said: "Even just one incident could create distrust among our customers. Until the government reaches a conclusion (concerning the safety of products from the packing plant), we have to refrain from selling them."

Meanwhile, Yoshinoya Co., at whose meat-processing factory in Otonemachi the banned spinal columns were discovered, continued to sell beef bowls at its restaurants across the country, although it erected signs in the restaurants reassuring diners that its beef is safe. The company held a meeting to discuss further measures it could take to dispel people's concerns about its beef.

A 40-year-old company employee who ate a beef bowl at a Yoshinoya outlet in JR Yurakucho Station in Tokyo said: "All foods have some sort of risks. However, I hope those handling foods strictly examine them and disclose relevant information."

According to Yoshinoya, a worker at its factory in Otonemachi, discovered the spinal columns in a delivery of beef products from the Californian packing plant at about 6 p.m. Monday while checking a package before it was processed.

Yoshinoya said that because it closely examines the content of all of beef consignments for specified BSE risk materials, it would never supply unsafe beef to its restaurants.

The Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry conduct sample surveys of imported beef products at airports and sea ports to check whether specified BSE risk materials have been mixed in.

However, importers have not been legally required to check all deliveries of beef products imported from the United States since June last year, so not all such deliveries are inspected at airports and sea ports.

Itochu Corp. imported the concerned product in August last year and kept it in a cold storage warehouse before shipping it to Yoshinoya on Saturday.

An Itochu spokesman said that because the consignment included a U.S. Agriculture Department sanitary certificate and was labeled "short plate," it failed to discover the spinal columns in the package before it was opened.

The spokesman said: "Because National Beef California LP, the manufacturer of the concerned product, is one of the leading U.S. meat packers and because we've had a business relationship with it for many years, we trust the company. We will demand an explanation about the incident."

Among other dealers of U.S. beef, Ito-Yokado Co. and Seiyu Co. both said they had not purchased beef from the National Beef plant in question.

U.S. beef imports were halted in December 2003 after cattle infected with BSE were discovered there.

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