China has decided to ban all imports of cow meat and animal feed from countries stricken by contagious mad cow and other diseases, to prevent their spreading to China.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the State Administration for Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine jointly issued a circular Friday, asking for intensified supervision and control methods to ban direct or indirect import of cow products and animal feed from countries or regions stricken by the mad cow disease.
Other measures, including a rigid permit-granting system, hygiene examination procedures, and a strict classification of animal products, will also be taken by related departments.
China started to ban the import of feed made from animal carcasses from disease-infected European Union countries on January 1 this year.
(Xinhua 03/18/2001)
