Belmonte, meanwhile, asked the Bureau of Customs to incinerate immediately the P3-million shipment of boneless beef from Ireland seized by the Cebu quarantine office. There is a ban on meat importation from Ireland and other parts of Europe due to the mad cow disease outbreak in 1999. There is no safer way to dispose of the seized meat than to burn it. The 2.5-ton cargo, which arrived in the country on January 11, has been abandoned by the Monterey Food Corp., the consignee of the imported product. Belmonte's call came after the Bureau of Food and Drug admitted it has no capacity to detect whether imported cow meat is contaminated with the disease.
Studies show that the disease attacks the nervous system of humans who eat the contaminated meat.
It has already killed several people in Britain. Belmonte, at the same time, called on local meat processors to ensure that the beef they are using does not come from European countries. He also asked the BFAD to conduct a strict monitoring in supermarkets of canned meat processed in any European countries.