Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder announces a permanent ban has been ordered. The ministers agree to set up a food regulatory agency. They also agree to keep out of the food chain all cattle older than 30 months that have not been tested for the disease. The French government announces it is banning blood donations of people who spent more than a year in Britain from 1980 to 1996, a precautionary measure against mad cow disease. German officials rush to reassure consumers that their sausages are safe after a European Union official hinted the country's beloved bratwurst, currywurst or even weisswurst could also be considered suspect in the mad cow disease scare.
Spanish authorities announce two new cases of mad cow disease.
Hoping to fend off criticism of its reaction to the panic, the German government proposes lowering the age of cows to be tested for BSE, implementing tougher food safety inspections and banning animal-based feeds and risky products. Spain reports three new cases of mad cow, while Australia and New Zealand announce they will ban all beef imports from Europe. The Belgian Federal Agency for Food Safety reports 161 cases of BSE in 2000, more than five times the number detected in 1999. French farmers block a slaughterhouse to protest the economic impact of the disease. The European Union appeals to consumers to stay calm, despite the discovery of suspected mad cow cases in Austria, Spain, Bavaria, Belgium, and in an Italian slaughterhouse that has supplied beef for McDonald's hamburgers.