May 27, 2011

New Zealand's court prolongs raw-pork import prohibition

The high court has terminated the importation of uncooked pork that pig farmers were scared that could infect animals in New Zealand with a disease that causes fatality to unborn and young pigs.

Justice Stephen Kos has found that delaying the import of raw pork for three months was necessary while new import health standards were reviewed.

New Zealand is one of the few countries free of PRRS, which causes miscarriages and stillbirths, and kills piglets. Cooking kills the disease and it does not affect humans.

The agriculture ministry said that if the new rules were introduced, the chance of the disease spreading to New Zealand pigs would be extremely remote.

Evidence for the pork board was that the disease could spread to live pigs within a year or two.

Justice Kos in the High Court at Wellington said he could not dismiss the views of scientists who said the risk was much greater than the ministry believed. He made orders to stop the new rules taking effect until late August, when the full challenge will be heard in court. However, the court hearing could not resolve the scientific controversy, he said.

Instead, the hearing would focus on the way the new import health standards were formulated and whether the correct process was followed and the pork board given a reasonable chance to comment.

Since 2001 imported pig meat has had to be either cooked or cured.

The new standard would allow importation of raw pig meat in sale-ready cuts of no more than three kilogrammes to lessen the chance of meat being trimmed and the raw offcuts fed to pigs, as it is believed that this could spread the disease.