Issue 296, March 14, 2001
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced it is temporarily prohibiting the importation of animals and animal products from the European Union into the United States. This temporary action is being taken following confirmation of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in France. On February 21, USDA announced similar actions regarding the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. The following is a summary of the restrictions on products from countries affected with FMD:

1) Prohibited products:
	live ruminants; live swine fresh (chilled or frozen) meat of ruminant or swine fresh (chilled or frozen) products derived from ruminants or swine (other than meat and milk/milk products) fresh (chilled or frozen) organs, glands, extracts or secretions derived from ruminants or swine (*NOTE: exceptions are allowed under permit, with additional processing for pharmaceutical or biological purposes) ruminant or swine semen ruminant or swine embryos
2) Meat and meat products:
	Cured or cooked meat and meat products may be allowed entry under certain conditions as specified in 9 CFR Part 94.4. Dried or cured meat is allowed entry if it meets the following conditions: all bones have been removed, the meat was held in an unfrozen, fresh condition for at least 3 days, and then was thoroughly cured and dried to a minimum moisture to protein ratio of 2.25:1. Canned meat is allowed entry if it is deboned meat that has been commercially heat processed in a hermetically sealed container such that it is shelf stable without refrigeration. Cooked meat is also allowed entry, but the cooking process and establishment must be approved in advance by APHIS.
3) Milk products: The following products are allowed unrestricted entry from FMD-affected countries: cheese (except cheese with liquid or containing other restricted items such as meat), butter, and butteroil. Also, such things as yogurt, cream liqueurs and chocolate products are not restricted.
	Milk products which are in concentrated liquid form and have been heat processed in a hermetically sealed container such that they are shelf stable without refrigeration are allowed entry. Dry milk and dry milk products may be allowed entry with consignment to approved establishments for further processing or storage. Other milk products, such as condensed milk, sterilized milk, casein and caseinates, lactose, etc. may be allowed entry under permit if the processing conditions are such that they would inactivate the FMD virus or if they are intended for industrial use. Milk and milk products which do not fall into the above categories are prohibited.
4) Restricted entry products: The following products are not allowed unrestricted entry from countries affected with FMD, but they are not completely prohibited either. This means that they can be imported without a permit under certain restrictions, with the primary restriction being consignment upon arrival to an approved establishment for further processing.
	Untanned hides and skins Raw, unwashed wool, hair and bristles Glue stock, defined as fleshings, hide cuttings and parings, tendons, or other collagenous parts of animal carcasses Untreated bones, horns and hoofs Blood meal, blood albumin, bone meal, intestines and other animal byproducts for industrial use Glands, organs, ox gall or bile, bone marrow, and like materials
5) Restricted entry products - import permit required: Many other processed products derived from ruminant or swine by-products may be allowed entry under import permit conditions. There is no consolidated list of these products, as new products are continuously being developed. An importer will submit a permit application form, detailing the processing conditions of the product. If it is determined that the process will inactivate the FMD virus, then a permit will be issued and the product will be allowed entry under those conditions.

Our contributing writer, Karl Krueger, works for Danzas AEI as a Technical Advisor and can be reached via email or at 248-263-8817.

Please note that due to the complex nature of the subject matter, Danzas AEI cannot be responsible for actions taken by the reader in reliance on the information contained herein without prior consultation with Danzas AEI.