EU eases testing of Thai shrimps

EU eases testing of Thai shrimps

BANGKOK: The European Union has eased testing requirements for
imported Thai shrimps, saying Bangkok has brought under control a
problem of contamination with cancer-causing antibiotics.

The EU said it would remove Thailand, the world's top exporter
of frozen shrimps, from a list of problem countries and revert to
the normal random testing of 10 percent of its shrimp imports. It
had been testing all Thai shrimps.

"The improved testing methods and other methods introduced
recently by the Thai authorities have proved effective,"
Klauspeter Schmallenbach, the European Commission ambassador to
Thailand, said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Thai shrimp exports plunged almost 30 percent in the first
half of 2002 immediately after the EU imposed tougher testing.
This followed routine checks last February on Thai fisheries
products, which tested positive for residues of nitrofurans, a
banned group of cancer-causing antibiotics used by some Thai
shrimp farmers to ward off disease. -- AFP

Suit against McDonald's dismissed

NEW YORK: In a major victory for the fast food industry, a
federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a widely watched suit in
which McDonald's hamburgers and French fries were blamed for
children's obesity.

U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet said the plaintiffs,
including a 14-year-old girl who is 4-foot-10 and 170 pounds,
failed to show McDonald's Corp. products presented a danger
unknown to consumers. He also cited concerns the case could
"spawn thousands of similar 'McLawsuits'" against all types of
restaurants.

"This opinion is guided by the principle that legal
consequences should not attach to the consumption of hamburgers
and other fast food fare unless consumers are unaware of the
dangers of eating such food," Sweet said.

"If consumers know...the potential ill health effect of eating
at McDonald's, they cannot blame McDonald's if they, nonetheless,
choose to satiate their appetite with a surfeit of supersized
McDonald's products." -- AFP

Seventh mad cow case in Japan

TOKYO: The Japanese government said Thursday it had found a
seventh case infection of mad cow disease in a cow born in 1996.

An 81-month-old Holstein born and raised on the northern
Japanese island of Hokkaido Prefecture was found to be infected
with the disease, said the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Specialists were to make a final diagnosis to confirm the cow
was infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) Thursday
evening, the ministry said.

The cow, slaughtered Tuesday, went through two sets of tests
that showed positive results, the ministry said. Results from the
second, more accurate tests, were confirmed Thursday morning.

The announcement followed official confirmation Sunday that a
sixth cow, a Holstein in Wakayama Prefecture in southern Japan,
was infected with the disease. -- AFP

Tourists offered coffee in E.Timor

MELBOURNE: Australian travelers have been offered an extra
incentive to visit East Timor this year - coffee with the foreign
minister.

Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta has asked tourists on the
inaugural tour of Australia's Intrepid Travel company to sample
"the best coffee in the world" at his "humble traditional home"
when they arrive, company spokeswoman Jane Crouch said Thursday.

The tour has been timed to coincide with the first anniversary
of East Timor's independence on May 20. The offer highlights two
of East Timor's great economic hopes for the future - coffee
exports and tourism.

Crouch said Nobel laureate Horta's offer was not surprising.

"The Timorese are very welcoming people," she said. "The
minister for foreign affairs is keen to encourage tourism because
he realizes the economic benefits."

Crouch said Intrepid felt the timing was right to begin tours
to East Timor despite its lack of infrastructure and the
Australian government's warning of security threats to travelers.
-- AP