HC Deb 13 June 2002 vol 386 cc1362-3W
Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the risks of foot and mouth disease being brought into the United Kingdom by(a) travellers and (b) goods from South Korea. [60275]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 10 June 2002]South Korea is not a country that is authorised to export meat or animals to the European Union. We have received veterinary advice that there is no significant risk of football fans or other travellers bringing Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) back from South Korea. We understand that all South Korean World Cup stadia are a long distance from the affected areas and most games will be played in Japan, which does not have FMD.

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to improve the biosecurity arrangements for the arrival at ports of(a) travellers and (b) goods from South Korea. [60274]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 10 June 2002]Veterinary advice is that the risk of travellers bringing foot and mouth disease back from South Korea is not significant. We have, however, issued advice in recent weeks via the Football Association website and the British Consulate in Seoul to advise travellers not to visit farms, and to either keep to the current personal import allowance of 1kg of meat cooked in a hermetically sealed container or, preferably, to bring no meat at all. We have also advised our port and airport enforcement authorities of the outbreak of foot and mouth in South Korea. These measures are in addition to those announced in our Action Plan of 28 March which sets out measures to reduce the risk of animal and plant diseases entering the country.