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Australia Bans Beef Product Imports From Europe
Australia has extended a ban on imported British beef products to more than two dozen European countries following the outbreak of "mad cow" disease there, the Australian government said on Friday. The authorities also advised retailers in Australia and New Zealand to remove all European beef products from their shelves.
Agriculture Minister Warren Truss said the decision was made to protect Australia"s status as a country free of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease.
Australia barred British beef and by-products in 1996 as concerns mounted that mad cow disease could be linked to the variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, which affects people.
The extension of the ban, which takes effect on January 8, includes Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, according to a statement from the Department of Health and Aged Care. Also affected were East European and Scandinavian nations.
Interim measures announced by the Australian and New Zealand governments on Friday include advice to retailers to voluntarily withdraw beef products from designated countries in Europe, as well as the suspension of imports from those countries, the Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) said.
"We have today written to major retail organisations asking them to identify processed beef products from Europe and to remove them from shelves as soon as possible as a precaution," ANZFA managing director Ian Lindenmayer said in a statement.
ANZFA will examine amendments to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to ensure that imported beef and beef products were free from BSE, he said. The amendment would require exporting countries to certify that their beef products were free from BSE.
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