Australian cattle products safe: Official<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Agriculture, which on March 10
\nimposed a ban on Australian beef imports because of anthrax,
\nassured yesterday that all Australian cattle products currently
\non sale in Indonesia were healthy.<\/p>\n
\"Consumers should not necessarily be reluctant to eat imported
\nbeef,\" Director for Animal Health Sofyan Soedardjat said in
\nresponse to public fears about Australian meat.<\/p>\n
He said imported beef and cattle products were scrutinized
\nthoroughly before being sold domestically.<\/p>\n
He also assured that all cattle infected by anthrax, a
\ncontagious disease attacking cattle, would die in 48 hours.
\nFurthermore, anthrax bacteria died when meat was well cooked, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said that cattle, before being exported, were usually kept
\nin quarantine for 10 to 14 days for vaccinations even if there
\nwere no import bans.<\/p>\n
Australia has extensively checked all its meat and cattle
\nsince the first anthrax outbreak in January in the state of
\nVictoria, he said.<\/p>\n
Sofyan said all vaccinated cattle needed 40 days before being
\nready for slaughter.<\/p>\n
After receiving a report on March 8 on the outbreak of anthrax
\nin the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria, the
\nministry announced the ban on imports of meat and cattle products
\nfrom those states.<\/p>\n
Sofyan said the ministry immediately checked all imported meat
\nafter receiving the report. \"We rejected then all imported meat
\nwith any clinical indication,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The director general of animal husbandry, Erwin Soetirto, said
\nimporters could resume buying cattle and cattle products from
\nboth Australian states 21 days after the last outbreak of anthrax
\nwas reported. The last outbreak was found in Victoria on March
\n13.<\/p>\n
Sofyan said a further decision would be made on April 3 or
\nApril 4 when the ban expired. But if there was another outbreak,
\nthe ban would be automatically extended.<\/p>\n
The ban included other cattle products like leather, milk and
\nbone.<\/p>\n
Indonesia imported 76.4 million kilograms of cattle imports
\nfrom Australia in 1995 and 101 million kilograms in the first 11
\nmonths of last year.<\/p>\n
About 30 percent of Indonesia's imports of cattle and cattle
\nproducts from Australia are from Victoria and New South Wales.
\n(10)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/australian-cattle-products-safe-official-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}