December 26, 2003

Hong Kong Impose Temporary Ban On US Beef Imports

In view of the suspected mad cow disease case in the United States, Hong Kong's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has temporarily suspended imports of US beef Wednesday.

Following the announcement Tuesday by the USDA Secretary of the country's first suspected case of mad cow disease, the FEHD has informed the US government via its local consulate of the decision to temporarily suspend imports of US beef and beef products into Hong Kong as a precautionary measure, said a spokesman for the FEHD.

The FEHD will be liaising closely with the US authorities and the local consulate to monitor the situation, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, he emphasized that there was no evidence to suggest that US beef still on sale in the local market is unsafe as the beef that had already arrived in Hong Kong has been certified by the US authorities to have originated from BSE-free cattle and was fit for human consumption.