FSA in attack on Germany
FSA in attack on Germany
THE Food Standards Agency has attacked Germanys BSE controls after British inspectors found remnants of spinal cord in a consignment of German beef at an Anglo Dutch Meats (ADM) processing plant at Eastbourne this week.
Declining beef consumption in Germany, caused by the unfolding EU BSE crisis, means more cheap beef is being imported and the affected consignment is the second in two weeks to reach Britain.
Agency chairman Sir John Krebs branded this latest breach totally unacceptable. "It raises questions as to how effectively EU-wide controls are being enforced," he said.
The infected quarter, part of a 19,000kg consignment, was destroyed. But the rest was released to be sold mainly to UK and foreign caterers, said ADM managing director Nik Askaroff.
Meanwhile farm minister Nick Brown pinned his hopes on the Food Standards Agency preventing any contaminated German beef entering the UK food chain at the MLCs Outlook 2001 Conference. " Every consignment of German beef will now be inspected by the Agency," he said.
• For more on beef imports, see Business, p34.