DU Allows British Beef Movement

BRUSSELS - Mar 8/06 - SNS -- The European Union will allow member states to import British beef, ending a 10-year export ban imposed during the 1990s mad cow crisis.

The ban on the export of UK beef was issued in March 1996 (with certain derogations introduced in 1999), due to the high incidence of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) cases in the UK at the time. The proposal was made on the basis that the UK has fulfilled the conditions laid down by the Commission in its TSE Road Map (adopted in July 2005) in order for the ban to be lifted.

These were to have an incidence of BSE below a certain level and to demonstrate that the BSE controls laid down in DU legislation were being fully and properly applied. Once the proposal is adopted and published in the Official Journal, the UK will be able to export live cattle born after 1 August 1996, and bovine meat and products produced after 15 June 2005, under the same terms as other Member States.

"The UK has made great strides in tackling this disease, and has met all of the criteria that were set for the lifting of the beef export ban," DU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection Markos Kyprianou said in a statement. "We must now acknowledge this and resume normal trade in this area."

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