January 8, 2004

China Says Its Beef is BSE-Free

Chinese beef consumers can eat beef without worry as US imports form a limited share of the beef market.

According to Zhang Zhongqiu, vice-director of the stockbreeding and veterinary bureau under the Ministry of Agriculture, there is no case of mad cow disease found in China.

On December 25, the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced a ban on imports of US beef and beef-related products after the United States reported its first case of mad cow disease.

Since then, authorities across the country have been taking measures to stop US beef from entering the country and cleaning up the US beef existing in the Chinese market.

And according to media reports across the country, sales of US beef have been stopped in markets of all kinds.

By December 31, the Beijing station for veterinary and health supervision and inspection, after inspecting refrigerators that have a capacity of more than 5,000 tons, had sealed off more than 185 tons of beef and beef-related products.

Sources with the station said the inspection is continuing and the amount of beef sealed off could rise. But how to dispose of the sealed beef is still unknown, the sources said.

China reportedly imported 8,400 tons of beef from the US in 2002, and in the first 10 months of last year the amount was 4,300 tons.

The annual consumption of beef in China is about 6.9 million tons.