§ John ThursoTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list by country of origin the meat imports into the United Kingdom over the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement on the exposure of the animals from which such meat came to foot and mouth disease. [8063]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 18 October 2001]: The table shows the amounts of meat from foot and mouth disease susceptible animals imported into the UK for the 12 month period August 2000 to July 2001.
Community legislation permits the importation of meat from certain countries where foot and mouth disease is present but only where the disease is restricted to specific areas. Imports are only permitted from parts of the country that are free of disease or under strict conditions that ensure the meat does not come from any animal that may have come in contact with foot and mouth disease before, during and after slaughter. These provisions are in line with the guidelines set out in the Office International des Epizooties International Animal Health Code 2001.
All meat imported from third countries must be accompanied by veterinary certification. This must confirm that the meat is derived from animals which have been subjected to an ante-mortem inspection during the 24 hours prior to slaughter at which the animal showed no signs of foot and mouth disease.
If there is an outbreak of disease likely to present a risk to human or animal health such as foot and mouth disease, Community legislation allows us to take appropriate safeguard action, which may include a ban on imports of meat from all, or parts, of that country. Recent examples include Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Swaziland, Uruguay and Zimbabwe, and within the EU, France, the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland. 172W
UK imports of carcase meat of foot and mouth disease susceptible animals1 August 2000-July 2001 Tonnes Description Beef Goat Pigmeat Sheepmeat Total Irish 82,098 — 28,845 1,901 112,844 Republic — — — — — Denmark 2,608 — 98,678 46 101,332 New Zealand 500 9 — 82,525 83,035 Netherlands 11,060 2 37,279 3,457 51,799 Germany 7,108 — 24,274 1,024 32,407 France 3,022 — 25,043 2,044 30,109 Australia 6,375 — 0 11,043 17,418 Brazil 16,218 — — — 16,218 Belgium 1,548 20 11,448 481 13,496 Botswana 10,172 — — — 10,172 Zimbabwe 7,638 — — — 7,638 Namibia 6,803 — — — 6,803 Spain 1,598 — 2,831 1,557 5,986 Uruguay 4,395 — — 818 5,2136 Italy 2,402 — 1,000 17 3,419 USA 18 — 2,541— — 2,558 Argentina 1,613 — — 254 1,867 South Africa 84 — — — — Other 646 — 2,724 270 3,724 Grand total 165,907 31 234,664 105,436 506,038 1 Cattle, sheep, pigs goats and reindeer. There were no imports of reindeer meat in 2000–01.