China Lifts Ban On Meat Imports From Poland And Belgium

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JAKARTA - Chinese authorities have revoked beef imports from Poland and Belgium, while several restaurant managers in the world's second-largest economy have begun to stop importing fish from Japan due to a nuclear waste disposal plan.

The Chinese Customs Agency (GAC) together with China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MOA) have sent a team of experts to Poland and Belgium to evaluate the control and prevention system for mad cow disease.

The results were in accordance with quarantine and health requirements, so China lifted the import ban, a joint GAC and MOA statement monitored in Beijing on Sunday.

The import ban was issued in March 2001 after the two countries were hit by an outbreak of mad cow disease.

GAC and MOA have also suspended bans on imports of pork from Italy. The import ban has been in effect since 1999 due to an outbreak of swine flu.

In February, China also suspended a ban on imports of pork from Colombia.

Meanwhile, several Japanese restaurant managers in China have stopped importing fish from Japan.

The cessation of fish imports from Japan was triggered by concerns from the international community about plans to dump nuclear waste by the Tokyo Electric Power Company into the Pacific Ocean, China's media, the Global Times wrote.

"Given the news about the planned disposal of radioactive water, many of our customers are concerned about Japanese food," said a Japanese restaurant manager in Beijing, quoted by the media affiliated with Chinese authorities.