Hong Kong people are unlikely to have been exposed to the human form of mad-cow disease through contaminated feed imported from Britain, officials said yesterday.
This was despite confirmation by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department that 64 tonnes of possibly contaminated animal feed were imported by Hong Kong since 1988.
The feed - ground meat and bone meal - was used to feed other animals. It was banned in Britain in 1988 over fears it could spread bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad-cow disease.
The World Health Organisation is now investigating whether China and other countries that bought the feed might start to see cases of the fatal disease, the Sunday Morning Post reported.
The department said yesterday 75 per cent of the imported feed was re-exported to the mainland. The rest was used to raise pigs and poultry and would not pose any risk to human health.
Food and Environmental Hygiene assistant director (food surveillance and control) Dr Gloria Tam Lai-fun said as far as it was known, mainland cows were not given the British feed.
