. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/AUS/125
29 January 2001
(01-0444)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY MEASURES
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  AUSTRALIA
If applicable, name of local government involved:           
2. Agency responsible: Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA)
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where
applicable).  Suspension on importation into Australia of all beef and beef-based products .
Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:
30 countries - Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech
Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Finland, Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Pola nd, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.
4. Title and number of pages of the notified document: Australian Government Press
Release of 5 January 2001 ('Australia to extend suspension on imported beef products toother European countries') available at www.anzfa.gov.au.
5. Description of content:  On 5 January 2001 the Australian Federal Government
announced, as an emergency measure, that all beef and beef-based products from
30 countries have been temporarily suspended from importation and withdrawn from sale in
Australia pending scientific risk assessment of the exposure of the BSE agent to humans
through consumption of beef products sourced from the specified countries.  The temporary
suspension and withdrawal came into effect on Monday 8 January as an interim measureunder Australia’s Imported Food Control Act , and is in response to the increasing number of
BSE cases in European countries other than the United Kingdom.  Certification procedures
and a new national food standard are being developed alongside a comprehensive risk
assessment process.  These temporary import restrictions exclude the following: (i) gelatine
(ii) fats and tallow (iii) milk and dairy products (iv) collagen made from skin and hides and(v) artificial beef flavours and associated products.
6. Objective and rationale:  [  X ] food safety,  [     ] animal health,  [     ] plant protection,
[    ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [     ] protect territory from
other damage from pests           
7. Nature of the urgent problem(s):  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) – related
measure
8. An international standard, guideline or recommendation does not exist [  X ].
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give its appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:           G/SPS/N/AUS/125
Page 2
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available: Section 3 (a) (ii) of
the Imported Food Control Act 1992 (Available in English at
www.aqis.gov.au/docs/cleb/ifcatoc.htm )
10. Date of entry into force/period of application (as applicable):  8 January 2001
11. Texts available from/and agency or authority designated to handle comments:
[ X ] National notification authority, [     ] National enquiry point or address, fax
number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
Information is available from the Australia New Zealand Food Authority website
(www.anzfa.gov.au ).  Also available from:
Information Officer
Australia New Zealand Food Authority
PO Box 7186
Canberra Mail Centre  ACT  2610
Australia
Fax:  (+61) 2 62712278E-mail:  info@anzfa.gov.au