The European Commission has said the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health has agreed on a Commission proposal to resume the importation of de-boned and maturated bovine meat from the provinces of Formosa, Salta, Chaco and Jujuy in Argentina.
After an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the Argentinean province of Salta in September 2003, the importation into the EU of de-boned and maturated bovine meat from the four provinces was suspended.
However, the Commission said no new outbreaks have been reported in Argentina in the meantime and inspection missions carried out in 2004 have shown that the situation has been normalised in the area.
In order to avoid the risk of the spread of FMD from Bolivia and Paraguay into Argentina, a buffer zone of 25 kilometres along the border with these two countries has been created by the Argentinean authorities. Imports from this buffer zone remain suspended.
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