France may lift ban on British beef

Eurofood, Feb 1, 2001

The French government may lift its ban on British beef after a scientific investigation showed that it is safer than domestically produced beef, the London Daily Express reports. The agriculture ministry in Paris indicated it could be preparing to lift its illegal block, as problems over France's own beef worsen. "We are looking closely at the latest worrying information about our own beef," said an agriculture official. "We could be close to lifting our embargo on imports of beef from Britain." Another official of the agency, which until now has urged the government to maintain the ban, added: "The embargo makes less sense after what we are learning about the risks from French beef." France has been defying European Union orders to reopen its borders to British beef since 1999, triggering legal action that could cost it massive fines.

The review comes after a study by epidemics specialist Christl Donnelly at London's Imperial College of Medicine, which revealed that as many as 10 000 French cattle have been infected with BSE since 1987.

That contrasts with only 215 cases reported by the French ministry of agriculture since it started keeping BSE records in 1991. Up to 100 contaminated animals could have ended up on French dinner plates this year, according to Donnelly.