February 17, 2006

EU bans meat imports from Argentine after foot-and-mouth outbreak

The EU will ban meat imports from eight counties in Argentina's northern Corrientes province, which was hit by foot-and-mouth disease, an Argentine official said on Wednesday.

Jorge Amaya, head of Argentina's National Food and Agriculture Quality and Hygiene Service, said that the EU had notified Argentina of the decision through its embassy in Brussels.

However, the EU will still accept canned meat packed up till Feb 3, even if it was from Corrientes' eight affected areas.

Argentina confirmed on Feb 8 that 70 animals were found sick with foot-and-mouth disease in a town in Corrientes.  Since the outbreak, Argentine authorities have cordoned off the area and culled more than 3,000 animals in Corrientes, which borders Uruguay and Brazil.