Armed police block British corned beef sales in Kenya

ALARM over "mad cow" disease spread to Africa yesterday as the Kenyan Government impounded tonnes of corned beef believed to have come from Britain and posted armed police at supermarkets selling it. A consignment of 3.2 tonnes of beef was seized by Mombasa port health authorities, who suspected the tinned meat might have been infected with BSE. The Government then revoked the trading licence for Nakumatt supermarkets, Kenya's second largest chain, forcing it to close outlets, and ordered police with automatic rifles to keep shoppers away from supermarkets in Mombasa, Nairobi and Eldoret.

A statement from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that the corned beef had been brought to Kenya with out clearance from the "revelant authorities". The beef was originally thought to have come from Brazil, but Kenya later established that the meat was British. Nakumatt Holdings, owners of the supermarket chain, placed newspaper advertisements defending itself against accusations that it was importing suspect beef. It claimed that meat had been "manufactured" in Brazil for John West Foods of England and had been packed under "Brazilian government inspection".

No tests have yet been carried out, but the Kenyans have demanded that the beef be shipped back to Britain to "prevent the spread of a potentially fatal disease to animals and humans". Cheap processed meat, much of it from the European Union's mountains of unsold agricultural produce, has been marketed in Africa for many years, but few locals find it satisfactory.

Kenya's domestically produced beef, which is reared free-range on wild shrubs, would be the delight of many British consumers because it is cheap (top-quality fillet costs about £2.50 per kg) and produced without chemicals, supplementary blood meal feed or artificial hormones.

Vegetables from Kenya's highland farms fill the shelves of British supermarkets, and Kenya is the world's largest exporter of cut flowers. But government officials and farmers have been prevented from penetrating the European meat market by tariff barriers and the lack of abattoirs that meet EU standards.

Brussels sees no prospect of beef ban being lifted

THE European Union's ban on the export of British beef will not be lifted for the foreseeable future, the EU Agriculture Commissioner, said yesterday. "As long as they do not meet the preconditions, then an end to the export ban is simply not a possibility," Franz Fischler said. His statement reflected the scorn and indifference in Europe that has greeted the British decision to opt for a lesser cull than that agreed at the Florence summit in June.

The European Commission gave warning that British hopes of winning an early exemption from the ban for certain herds in Northern Ireland and elsewhere would come to nothing until the original selective slaughter was started. John Major appealed in vain yesterday for an end to the "hysteria" in Europe surrounding BSE and a return to rational debate over the lifting of the export ban. Douglas Hogg, the Agriculture Minister, admitted that the prospect of a Tory revolt had been a decisive factor in the decision to suspend the cull.

Germany, which has taken the toughest line against Britain throughout the BSE crisis, led a wave of condemnation for what officials depicted as the Cabinet's "incomprehensible" decision to renege on the Florence undertaking. "A unilateral change by the British Government is not acceptable," Klaus Kinkel, the German Foreign Minister, said. "The main priority is the health of the consumer."

Ireland, which, as current EU President speaks for the Council of Farm Ministers, noted that British behaviour would have no impact on Europe since the beef ban would simply stay in place. Ivan Yates, Irish Agriculture Minister, said that the British move was "a matter of indifference" to many member states: "The move will considerably widen the gulf of understanding about tackling the BSE problem."

The Commission tried to keep doors open, noting that EU scientists were still reviewing the latest British data and could recommend a rise or reduction in the slaughter, which was set at 147,000 cattle. Sir Leon Brittan, the senior British Commissioner, persuaded his colleagues to have the latest science reviewed before dismissing Mr Major's latest approach.

The Commission remained open to discussing the possibility of easing the ban for animals from certified herds, possibly on a regional basis, "but only if the terms of the Florence agreement are respected," said Gerry Kiely, spokesman for Herr Fischler. The latest conflict over Britain's handling of its BSE crisis has further soured the atmosphere ahead of an EU summit in Dublin on October 5.

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Cattle cull put on hold as EU talks continue

THE proposed slaughter of 147,000 cattle was put on hold last night as ministers increased pressure on the European Commission to agree a partial lifting of the ban on British beef exports. Downing Street announced that the selective cull agreed with the Commission will not take place while discussions continue about scientific evidence and the export of beef from BSE-free herds.

Douglas Hogg, the Agriculture Minister, was expected to put proposals last night to Franz Fischler, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, on lifting the export ban on beef from herds certified as BSE-free, most of which are in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Ministers are aware that, with Tory opposition to a full cull running high, the Commons will not approve proposals for the slaughter of 147,000 cattle. However, Whitehall sources suggest that a scaled-down cull might be approved if there are signs of a partial lifting of the export ban.

Roger Freeman, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the chairman of the Cabinet committee examining the crisis, said: "It's welcome news that the Commission is going to look at the scientific evidence on when BSE is likely to be eradicated." He told BBC Radio 4's Today: "We agreed in Florence to take certain steps in the UK which in some part we have already met, such as the improvement of slaughter home practices. We are fulfilling our side of the bargain and in return we wanted an early lifting of the ban in stages, perhaps beginning with the export from herds that can be certified as always having been BSE-free."

Tory backbencher Paul Marland, MP for rural Gloucestershire West, and who has been a vocal critic of the mass cull, said: "I am very pleased to hear this decision. It will go down very well in Gloucester market and elsewhere. It [the selective cull] was an horrific prospect."

The Meat and Livestock Commission gave the news a guarded welcome. "It is potentially good news for farmers, providing there is political goodwill on all sides," a spokesman said. "There are two things that need to be done. One is to restore consumer confidence in beef and the other is to restore exports of British beef as soon as possible." Ministers also announced £60 million in aid for farmers in hill and upland areas, mainly in Scotland, who have been hit particularly hard during the past six months.

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Prince gives warning on intensive farming

THE Prince of Wales said last night that intensive agriculture could be undermining the health of the nation. He said that the hidden costs of intensive farming would burden future generations financially, and nutritional deficiencies in intensively produced food might rob children of intelligence.

In a lecture to the Soil Association, the champions of the organic farming methods which the Prince uses at Highgrove, he claimed that intensive farming had never provided cheap food because its real costs had never been taken into account. "We have been paying twice, not only to subsidise intensive farming through taxes, but to restore, partially, the damage that sort of farming creates."

He cited a report in the New Scientist which said that the so-called green revolution in South Asia had produced intensively grown crops so deficient in zinc and iron that "an IQ loss of ten points has been observed in a whole generation of children".

The Prince was delivering the 1997 Lady Eve Balfour Memorial Lecture at the Banqueting Hall in London. Lady Eve was a founder of the Soil Association. The National Farmers' Union said that the Prince had highlighted the debate but was too pessimistic. "His view is a gloomy one which would not be recognisable to most farmers, who take a great pride in their environmental achievements."

Rapid rise in number of cancer sufferers

THE number of people suffering from cancer is increasing sharply, figures published yesterday disclosed. Deaths from cancer have also risen. New cases of the disease in women rose by 30 per cent between 1979 and 1991, from 83,100 to 107,900. In men new cases rose by 21 per cent from 86,200 to 104,200.

The Office of National Statistics, which published the figures, said some of the increase in new cases was attributable to the ageing of the population. After allowing for this, the rise was estimated at 20 per cent among women and 10 per cent among men. The increase emerged partly as a result of better diagnosis and improved registration.

The figures show that more than half of all cancers occurred in those aged between 65 and 79. Only 6 per cent of cancers in men and 9 per cent in women occurred in those under 45. There were 1,200 cancers in children under 15, one third of them leukaemia.

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