French menus reinstate UK beef

France has lifted its unilateral ban on British beef

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PARIS, France -- British beef is back on the menu in France for the first time since it was banned six years ago in the wake of the 'mad cow' health scare.

Its inclusion at a meat fair in Paris, on Saturday, followed a decision by the French government earlier this month to lift the ban on the advice of the national food agency AFSSA that British beef exports are now safe.

France had been facing a potential daily fine from the European Court of Justice for not ending the embargo.

Until the ban in 1996, France was Britain's biggest export market for beef.

Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has been linked to a deadly human version called variant Creutzfeldt Jacob Disease (vCJD), which has so far killed more than 100 people, mostly in Britain but also some in France.

The UK's Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) organised Saturday's display of beef, from a Welsh processing plant, at the SIAL international food show in Paris.

Remi Fourrier, manager of MLC's Paris office, told the Press Association: "We were prepared for the lifting of the ban and had plans in place to help exporters regain their markets.

"We have been in contact with many of those who used to be our customers.

"We have a very big job ahead of us, but I believe French customers will soon be enjoying our beef again."

France imposed a ban on imports of British beef six years ago because of fears of mad cow disease.

The ban was initially across the European Union, but France continued its own ban for three years after the EU sanction was lifted in 1999.

In July the European Commission asked the European Court of Justice to impose a fine of almost 160,000 euros a day on France for failing to comply with its earlier judgments that the ban was illegal.

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