UK bans German pork products after foot-and-mouth outbreak near Berlin
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Ham, gammon, bacon, salami and some dairy products banned after Germany’s first reported case in nearly 40 years. Britain has banned the import of German ham, bacon and salami as well as many other meat and dairy products after a case of foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed on the outskirts of Berlin last week.
The government said that while there were no cases of the livestock disease in Britain, the ban would help stop it spreading and protect British farmers and their livelihoods. Mandy Nevel, head of animal health and welfare at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), said the announcement “means that ham, gammon and bacon as well as products like salami from Germany will not be allowed into the UK. As such we are expecting some disruption to supply.”.
German authorities confirmed the country’s first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in nearly 40 years in a herd of water buffalo on the outskirts of Berlin. Foot-and-mouth is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of livestock that affects cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed animals.
While the disease poses no risk to human health or food safety, a particularly severe outbreak in 2001 in Britain culminated in the slaughter of more than 6 million animals, wrecking incomes for many farmers. The outbreak has meant Germany can no longer be classified as free of foot-and-mouth disease, and had been expected to trigger a wave of trade restrictions.
Germany’s agriculture ministry said on Monday that exports of milk and dairy products, meat and meat products, hides and skins and blood products were “currently hardly possible”, adding that it “assumed third countries would immediately impose bans on such goods from Germany”.
