World

Belgium Lifts Slaughter Ban

June 7, 1999 / 8:10 AM EDT / AP

Declaring an end to a two-week-old dioxin scare, Brussels on Wednesday lifted a ban on the slaughter of chickens, pigs and cattle. But even as Belgium struggled to calm health fears, jitters were still spreading far beyond its borders.

In Asia, Malaysian authorities told stores this week to clear a wide range of European food products from their shelves, threatening five years in jail for anyone caught breaking the ban. Chicken feet -- a southern Chinese delicacy -- were among the European poultry products likely to be banned from China, a quarantine official in Beijing said Wednesday.

The Philippine government has banned poultry, beef and pork products from the same four countries as China.

Â"There is a big outbreak in Europe and we don't want this to happen to even a single Filipino who may get cancer from eating imported meat,Â" Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara said Wednesday.

The Belgian scandal centered on the use of animal-based feed contaminated with dioxin, a chemical that has been found to cause liver cancer. Before acknowledging the contamination Belgian officials had denied any knowledge of the impurity, leading to fears of a cover-up.

Speaking to Le Monde, French Health Minister Bernard Kouchner said a drive for Â"short-term profitÂ" was impreling the health of European consumers.

Â"We have to stop playing food wars, stop concealing things and practicing culinary nationalism,Â" he said. Â"This is a European crisis, as the `mad cow' disease was, and as perhaps genetically-modified organisms will be one day.Â"