Ban on beef imports after bones found
Food and health officials yesterday banned US beef imports from a plant in Colorado after finding bones during random inspections.
The decision to suspend imports from the Swift Beef Company came after the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department's Airport Food Inspection Office made the discovery while examining a shipment of its beef on Friday night, a spokesman said.
A two-year ban on US beef was lifted in December on condition that imports were boneless, to reduce the chances of it being infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) - commonly known as mad cow disease.
Imports must also be from cattle less than 30 months old and which had high-risk parts such as the brain and spinal cord removed.
'We will contact the relevant authorities for more information concerning the beef imports in question,' the spokesman said.
US beef imports were banned in Hong Kong in December 2003, after the mad cow disease scare of that year.
The ban was lifted after extensive lobbying by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the US consulate, citing measures taken by the US Department of Agriculture to prevent the spread of BSE. This included the removal of meat and bonemeal from cattle feed, increased surveillance and testing for BSE, and the prohibition of disabled cattle for use as human food.
