An Indonesian woman buys kilos of local beef at traditional meat market in Jakarta

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, December 28 (IslamOnline.net) - The Malaysian and Indonesian governments banned beef imports from the U.S. because of the discovery of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease in the country, news agencies said Sunday, December 28.

The two countries also ordered shops selling U.S. imported beef and U.S. processed beef products to withdraw the commodity from the market with immediate effect.

Malaysia’s Health Ministry’s Food Quality Control Division Director Dr Abdul Rahim Mohamad asserted that ban was effective since last Wednesday, reported the Bernama news agency on Sunday.

He said from last January to September, the country imported 120,126.01 kg of frozen boneless meat of bovine animals from the U.S., 0.21 per cent of the total import of frozen boneless meat of bovine animals.

Dr Abdul Rahim added that the ban was imposed under Section 13(1) of the Food Act 1983 and the statement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the BSE presumptive sample taken last December  9.

A British laboratory said Thursday that a Holstein cow in the U.S. state of Washington was found to have the BSE, which eats away brain tissue, causing madness and death in cows.

The ban would not affect Malaysia’s supply of beef as U.S. imports only made up about 0.3% of the total imports.

Malaysia’s main supply of beef comes from India and Australia, said the Director General of Malaysia’s Veterinary Services Department Saturday, December 27.

"Malaysia’s main supply of beef comes from India and Australia, so the effect of the ban will be very little," he said.

Asked when the ban would be lifted, he said the department would monitor the situation and react accordingly.

U.S. Embassy public affairs counselor Karl Stoltz said the U.S. would be working closely with local authorities to ensure restoration of public confidence in its beef products.

Malaysia Bans

Meanwhile, Malaysian authorities cautioned all government agencies as well as the beef industry and public to adhere to the ban to ensure Malaysians were not exposed to the deadly disease.

"We have asked the customs and excise office to prevent the import of processed beef products from the U.S. indefinitely, starting Saturday," Antara news agency reported quoting a statement by the Indonesian Food and Drug Control Agency (BPOM).

The ban is indefinite and importers, traders, supermarkets and other retail stores were given severe warning of stiff actions if the ban was not respected.

"We will take legal measures against those who defy the order," BPOM said, adding that it was confident importers, distributors and retail stores would abide by the ban, which is a blow to the U.S. exports to Indonesia.

Indonesia imports U.S. $9 million of fresh U.S. beef annually and processed beef products worth $62 million a year.

Processed beef products include canned beef and other preserved foods and drinks such as sausage, milk and cheese.

Indonesia also imports beef and processed beef products from Australia and New Zealand.

According to the BPOM, the last direct import of U.S. processed beef products, some 440 kilograms of beef powder, was on September 2003 and was destined to be used in some sausage and burger patties.

Government officials are said to be conducting field observations on U.S. beef and processed beef products starting next week.

The consumers were also warned to check the labels of products to know the country of origin before buying beef products.

Other countries that have temporarily banned U.S. beef include China, Thailand, Malaysia, Russia, South Africa, Jamaica, Chile, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Mexico.

Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines have not given any indication that they may ban U.S. beef.

BSE ravaged Europe's cattle industry in 2001 and is thought to have caused the fatal variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans who eat infected meat.