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Cattle Council grilled in BSE inquiry

February 22, 2010 by admin

(SMH) Coalition senators have clashed with representatives of a key cattle group over new rules covering the importation of beef to Australia. Imports from countries which have experienced bovine spongiform encephalopathy - better known as mad-cow disease - will be allowed from March 1, sparking anger from some in the local cattle industry. But the Red Meat Advisory Council is backing the new rules, subject to further consultations with Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). The Cattle Council of Australia supports the move but acknowledged to a Senate inquiry hearing on Monday that it still had some concerns about the protocols. That led Nationals senator Fiona Nash to ask cattle council president Greg Brown what would happen if FSANZ ignored his organisation's input. "Obviously, we'll do what we did before, raise the issue publicly," Mr Brown told the Senate's rural and regional affairs committee in Canberra. When pressed further by Senator Nash, Mr Brown admitted that the council had no jurisdiction to insist on changes. read more

It's almost as if there's a desprate attempt to have our Australian beef industry sabotaged by an 'accidental' outbreak of contaminated import meat. We have enough cows here to feed BBQ'ing Australia already, so why all the rush?