Food and Beverage Business
General News

UK Prohibits German Meat Imports in Reaction to Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreak

UK Prohibits German Meat Imports in Reaction to Foot-and-Mouth Disease Outbreak bans, Disease, foot-and-mouth, FootandMouth, German, imports, meat, outbreak, Prohibits, Reaction, response, UK Food and Beverage Business

In a significant public health measure, the UK and South Korea have enacted bans on importing meat products from Germany, alongside restrictions on certain dairy items. This action follows the first detection of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany since 1988.

It is anticipated that Ireland will soon implement similar measures.

The alarming case was discovered in Germany on Friday, January 10th, and has been traced to water buffalo in Brandenburg, located near Berlin. The country’s agriculture ministry confirmed this occurrence as local authorities move swiftly to contain the outbreak.

As reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), South Korea has imposed a ban on German pork imports, starting last Saturday. The country’s agriculture ministry indicated that tests are being conducted on all German pork products that arrived in South Korea since December 27. Furthermore, 360 tonnes of pork from Germany are currently undergoing quarantine testing.

In the UK, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed the meat import ban from Germany in a recent statement issued on January 13th.

This ban extends to meat derived from ungulates, which includes pork, beef, sheep, and goat meat imports, as well as wild game.

Defra stated that the prohibition will also encompass milk products, colostrum, and related items, in addition to untreated animal by-products, which present an FMD risk.

Ireland’s government has indicated that it may follow suit after the UK and South Korea, with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine stating that it is actively addressing the FMD situation.

In a recent statement, Ireland’s Department clarified, “Our controls to prevent FMD include strict prohibitions on imports of animals and animal products from countries with FMD cases; a comprehensive veterinary surveillance system; and proactive follow-ups to any suspicious reports.” Furthermore, it emphasized that no susceptible animals have been imported from Germany since November 1, 2024.

Germany’s agriculture ministry head acknowledged the FMD discovery and committed to mitigating export restrictions on local meat. Cem Özdemir, Germany’s Minister of Food and Agriculture, stated, “In the EU internal market, trade from foot-and-mouth disease-free areas is still possible in Germany – the so-called regionalisation.”

Özdemir added: “We are doing everything we can to enable exports to as many markets as possible quickly. We are in contact with our trading partners and advocate for restrictions to be minimized, with consideration given to secure processing methods and the regionalisation principle.”

The minister reinforced the intent to “swiftly control the virus to protect animals and minimize impacts on our agriculture and food sectors.” He also noted that Brandenburg has suspended the transport of susceptible animals and related products.

Related posts

Ex-Co-op Food Chief to Join Asda

FAB Team

New launches to look out for at Packaging Innovations & Empack 2025

admin

Maggie Beer Restructures Leadership by Removing COO and CFO Positions

FAB Team