The government plans to provide some 10 billion yen in aid by March to producers of meat-and-bone meal following its decision Tuesday to ban its use because of a suspected link to mad cow disease, farm ministry officials said Wednesday.
Together with support expected from local governments, total public aid will likely reach 15 billion yen, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry officials said.
The aid will be used to cover the cost of burning MBM, they said.
Around 200,000 tons of MBM will be destroyed, meaning the public aid will come to some 75 yen per kilogram, the officials said.
The government is also expected to approve legal amendments at a Cabinet meeting as early as Friday to specify dangerous parts of beef cattle, such as bones and internal organs, as industrial waste.
The government will be able to ensure their complete disposal by doing so, government officials said.
The government moves come amid growing public concern about mad cow disease following the confirmation last month of the nation's first case of the fatal brain-wasting illness. A Holstein cow in Chiba Prefecture was found to have the disease.