Children’s food from China banned
A total ban on children’s food from China will be enforced throughout EU countries from Friday, the European Commission has announced.
It comes amid growing fears over contaminated milk powder that has already caused several deaths and serious illness among thousands more children in China.
A spokeswoman said some EU countries – and some sectors of the food industry – have already announced their own bans. Now Brussels is activating an explicit total ban on all products aimed at infants and young children and which could pose a threat of contamination.
The decision, under EU health and safety provisions, will be formally adopted on Friday, along with an agreement to step up testing of all other food imports that contain at least 15% milk products. There will also be random testing of other foods that may be affected.
Meanwhile, the spokeswoman emphasised: "As far as we know there has been no contamination in food originating from China that has already been imported into the EU."
National government experts on the EU’s Standing Committee on Food and Animal Health were meeting to discuss other possible measures in the event that evidence emerges that contamination has reached Europe.
Copyright © PA Business 2008
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