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EU relaxes beef import restrictions for Brazil, ArgentinaBRUSSELS, Belgium (AP)--A European Union veterinary expert panel June 30 further relaxed beef import restrictions on fresh meat from three South American nations. The European Commission said the panel backed its conclusions that additional areas in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay are now "in a position to comply" with EU food safety standards ensuring their exported meat is free from animal diseases, notably foot-and-mouth disease. Experts recently conducted inspections of the testing procedures in the countries. The June 30 decision will open the EU market up to parts of two provinces in Argentina, Neuquen and Rio Negro, the states of Parana and Sao Paulo in Brazil and all of Paraguay. The countries had been under tight import restrictions following the outbreak of the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease there among cattle and wild game herds. All the meat products will have to meet tighter health and food safety inspections when they are exported, and in most cases meat-on-the bone products are still not allowed into the 27-nation bloc. The EU moved in February to allow some Brazilian farms to export beef to Europe again, ending a monthlong import ban. Brazil, the world's No. 1 beef exporter, had protested the measures and had warned the EU it could file a complaint at the World Trade Organization claiming that the animal disease rules were an unfair barrier to free trade. The EU demands cattle must be disease-free and located in a foot-and-mouth-free state 90 days prior to slaughter if the meat is to be exported to the EU. The slaughter must be in a facility approved by the EU, and only matured and de-boned meat is allowed for export. Foot-and-mouth disease, which also strikes other cloven-hoofed animals like sheep, pigs and goats, is a viral illness that can be spread through even minimal contact with infected animals, farm equipment or meat. It can be fatal to animals, but does not harm humans. Europe's own strict rules that register and track animals date back to the mad cow crisis in the 1990s when it emerged that cattle fed bonemeal from diseased sheep had entered the human food chain. 7/7/08 Date: 7/2/08
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