U.S. beef inspections have resumed, ending a suspension that lasted nearly a month following the discovery of vertebral bone pieces in a shipment of boneless meat.

The Agriculture Ministry announced that quarantine inspections would resume Monday but that it would withdraw imports from the U.S. meat supplier that had mistakenly shipped the backbone parts to Korea. Vertebral bones are considered a strong risk for mad cow disease.

The government will also maintain a hold on beef inspections from four other suppliers that had mistakenly sent rib parts, which remain banned under a Korea-U.S. agreement that the nation will accept only boneless American beef from cattle under 30 months old.

It is expected that 68-hundred tons of U.S. beef held in quarantine warehouses since August first will spill into the market at once, most likely bringing down prices for pork and Korean beef.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture Ministry will resume quarantine talks and continue its eight-step risk evaluation process.

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