TOKYO (AP) - After months of wrangling, Japanese and US scientists agreed yesterday to recommend an end to tests for mad cow disease in young and newborn cattle - a compromise that could bring about an end to Tokyo's ban on American beef.

The recommendation to Tokyo and Washington came at the end of two-day talks in Japan's capital aimed at settling a dispute over safeguards for the fatal brain-wasting illness.
Japan was one of 30 nations to impose a ban on American beef on December 24, following the discovery of the first US case of mad cow disease. Washington has sought a lifting of the seven-month ban, but Tokyo - citing its own blanket testing for the disease - has refused to do so until the United States tests all cows slaughtered for food.
Japan appeared to back off that demand yesterday.

In meetings that lasted until nearly midnight, scientists from both sides drafted a report that says excluding young cattle from the probes wouldn't affect the safety of the food supply chain, according to public broadcaster NHK TV.

That's because the rogue proteins, called prions, that are believed to cause the disease usually aren't abundant enough for current testing methods to detect in such young animals. Mad cow disease is formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

The scientific report is expected to form the basis of a pact to reopen Japan's markets to US beef between top US and Japanese officials, Dr Peter Fernandez, the Agriculture Department official leading the US team, said in a brief statement. He didn't reveal details of the report.

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