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Friday December 8, 2000

Kashrut restrictions protect Israelis from 'mad cow disease' epidemic

JUDY SIEGEL
Jerusalem Post Service

JERUSALEM -- Israel is safe from "mad cow disease," or bovine spongiform encephalopathy -- which has Europeans frightened of an epidemic -- largely because its "kashrut restrictions on meat limit the places from which it may be imported," according to the chief veterinarian or the Health Ministry's Food Control Service.

Dr. Robert Singer said BSE, the clinical acronym for the bacteria, is the cause of the debilitating and incurable brain ailment named variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, first diagnosed in English cattle in 1986. There have been close to 180,000 cases among animals in Britain and 1,300 elsewhere in the European Union. In Britain, the incidence in animals has fallen dramatically because of draconian measures, including wholesale slaughtering of herds, mandatory testing, and an E.U. ban on British beef exports -- which has since been lifted.

After BSE was found last week in German and Spanish cattle, European officials announced tough new measures designed to restore public faith in E.U. beef and stop the spread of the brain-wasting disorder. The European Commission urged a ban on meat-based animal feed, which has been blamed for spreading the disease, and intends to test for BSE millions of cattle 30 months and older before they can be slaughtered.

Last week, Singer's office banned the import of fresh and frozen French beef, as well as canned processed beef originating in that country, whatever its production date. French beef constitutes less than 5 percent of Israel's imported meat, and it gets none from Germany or Spain, said Singer.

The main suppliers of kosher beef are in South America -- especially Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Peru -- and no BSE has been reported there. Beef from Holland is allowed in only if there are documents proving it was produced in Holland and not in affected countries.

Previously, Israel prohibited the import of all beef from cattle older than 24 months, which is half a year below the 30-month minimum age in which BSE has been diagnosed in animals.

Singer said because cans of beef imported from Europe could theoretically be smuggled from the Palestinian Authority into Israel, the Agriculture Ministry's veterinary services and the FCS decided to bar the entrance of all meat from France into Israeli ports so they don't reach the territories, either.

"The minute these products arrive at our ports, they are sent back," he said.

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