Japan suspends pork imports from Austria
The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has suspended imports of pork from Austria this week after finding a shipment of sausages from an Austrian company that contained banned beef, Kyodo news agency reports.
The 4.8 kg of sausages containing beef did not enter the Japanese market, the ministry said. The country imposed a ban on beef imports from the EU in 2001 following a number of cases of BSE-infected cattle (BSE) in some EU countries.
The sausages were processed by Austrian producer Hütthaler, the ministry said.
Quarantine checks
Quarantine staff at Chubu International Airport found the sausages early this week after seeing an inspection certificate issued by the Austrian government that stated the sausages contained beef, the ministry said.
The Austrian government has been called on to take action. Austria is the second EU country, following Sweden, from which banned beef has been imported and found in Japan.
Related websites:
• Hütthaler
• Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
• Kyodo news agency
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