Sixty kilograms of beef products, all from the mad cow disease
rampant Washington State, were seized on a US cargo ship, the
Ningbo-based newspaper Contemporary Gold reported
Monday.
The cargo ship was scheduled to sail from the United States to
several Chinese ports, and Ningbo was its first stop. The beef was
found last Saturday evening when local officials began routine
inspections. Ningbo Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau
immediately sealed up the beef for safekeeping, and carried out an
inspection on related persons.
The beef was said to be purchased in Tacoma, Washington State at
the end of November, but it is still difficult to judge if the beef
came from disease-infected areas or not.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the State Administration of
Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), last
Thursday announced an immediate ban on imports of US beef and
beef-related products after the United States reported its first
suspected case of mad cow disease.
Local government departments also strengthened inspection and
quarantine of disembarked ships, and related preparatory sanitary
work is also under way.
(China.org.cn by Tang Fuchun and Daragh Moller, December 30,
2003)