May 19, 2004

Russia Bans Beef Imports From Countries With BSE

Russia's State Veterinary Service has banned the import of beef from all countries where cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease, have been registered, according to the government press service Tuesday.
 
The ban, which covers 24 countries, including the U.S., Canada and most E.U. countries, came into effect May 17.
 
Russia imports annually about 300,000 metric tons of beef.