WASHINGTON (Kyodo) With no blanket testing for mad cow disease, the U.S. beef industry will find it difficult to regain the trust of Japanese consumers and get back its huge market share once the import ban is lifted, according to the head of an American meatpacker.

Executives from Creekstone Farms Premium Beef LLC, based in Arkansas City, Kan., were in Washington this week to get support from lawmakers so it can blanket test for mad cow disease.

The firm filed a federal lawsuit in March against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for denying its request to voluntarily test all cattle for the brain-wasting disease also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy.