A government-appointed panel unveiled Monday a draft report that would pave the way to lifting the 22-month-old ban on U.S. beef imports, saying meat from young cattle poses an extremely low food safety risk.

But dissenting members on the Food Safety Commission's special panel on mad cow disease prevented a final decision.

The draft report reiterated the panel's findings, which said the risk of mad cow disease in cattle aged 20 months or younger is minimal, when the beef does not include parts such as spines, eyes, brains and heads.