Imported beef and by-products removed from shelves; government urges calm

In the past two months sanitary inspectors throughout Poland have begun examining imports containing beef protein, while the government is attempting to prevent panic about BSE, or "mad cow" disease, from spreading among the public. Thus far, approximately 900 kilograms of beef, 9,000 kilograms of ready-made foods, and 11,000 kilograms of sweets have been removed from store shelves. With 30,000 shops and warehouses inspected to date, 2,000 products have been withdrawn and 7,000 have been withheld for further examination until their importers provide certificates of their safety. "We're stopping everything suspicious, regardless if produced in a country in which BSE has been discovered," said chief sanitary inspector Pawel Policzkiewicz yesterday. Meanwhile, public health officials are urging calm. "Certain people and media are rousing panic. There is danger, but it needs to be treated rationally," explained chief veterinarian Dr. Andrzej Komorowski. "Since no cow has yet succumbed to BSE, we are treating our country as free of the disease." Currently all dead cows, whether domestic or imported, with neurological symptoms are being inspected, as well as a 3% random selection of slaughtered cows older than 30 months. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 1)