May 24, 2006

New Zealand clears the air over rumours of meat ban

New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) have denied rumours of a ban on meat exports to Ukraine.

The agency believes that the rumours could have arisen from fraudulent shipments of meat entering Ukraine that were not of New Zealand origin.

NZFSA maintained that reports last week from an overseas news agency that Ukraine had banned New Zealand meat were incorrect.

NZFSA has no knowledge of any exports of New Zealand meat to the Ukraine, according to Tony Zohrab, NZFSA¡¯s director of market access.

Zohrab said the report was actually about non-New Zealand meat that was passed off as a New Zealand product.

It is a matter of course that Ukraine would refuse entry of such shipments, he said, adding that this is not the first time the fraud has occurred.

NZFSA assists overseas authorities to confirm that suspicious shipments are not of New Zealand origin.

New Zealand has world-leading tracking systems and its electronic certification system ensures importing nations can identify and verify shipments, NZFSA said.