(AU)European beef imports suspended

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European beef imports suspended

 

From AAP

05jan01

 

16:30 (AEDT) IMPORTS of all beef and beef products from Europe into

Australia and New Zealand will be suspended from next Monday in the wake of

the mad cow scare, the federal government said today.

 

The ban applies to products from 30 countries.

 

The move came as the Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) announced

it would take steps to safeguard the food supply against the effects of the

deadly variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).

 

ANZFA managing director Ian Lindemayer said the authority would examine

possible amendments to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to

ensure imports of beef and beef products were free of the animal version of

the disease - bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

 

" We have 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, " Mr Lindenmayer said.

 

In the meantime, Mr Lindenmayer said, consumers should check labels on any

imported foods and discard corned beef, luncheon meat, frankfurters and

other products which contained beef with a European country of origin.

 

" Australia and New Zealand have one of the safest food supplies in the world

and the current steps are intended to keep it that way. "

 

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Warren Truss also moved to reassure

consumers of the safety of Australian beef and beef products.

 

" Australia is one of only five countries in the world recognised as being

free from BSE in their cattle, " Mr Truss said.

 

" Australian beef and beef products are totally safe. "

 

Australia's chief medical officer Professor Richard Smallwood said foods

containing British beef had been banned from importation into Australia

since 1996 following concerns about the spread of the disease.

 

" It is becoming clearer now that more countries in Europe may be affected by

BSE in their cattle, " Professor Smallwood said.

 

" The risk to the health of Australians from the consumption of these

products is extremely small.

 

However, we need to keep one step ahead of the BSE/vCJD situation that is

causing great concern in the UK and the rest of Europe. "

 

The ban affects all beef goods from 30 European countries including Belgium,

Denmark, France and Germany.

 

It could be extended to bovine-derived medical and beauty products.

 

The ban on beef and beef products follows a ban on blood donors who spent

six months or more in England between 1980 and 1996.