Guangzhou customs find imported German dog food contains mad cow disease

Mad cow disease was discovered in a batch of German dog food imported to China, the inspection and quarantine authorities in Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province told China National Radio on Thursday.

An officer with the Guangzhou Entry- Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau recently found bovine- derivative ingredients that tested positive for mad cow disease in a shipment of German dog food that had been sent to China.

According to official data from the Guangzhou postal port, the biggest postal port in South China, the Guangzhou Entry- Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau in 2016 confiscated a total of 37 batches of animal- derived products, weighing more than 200 kilograms.

In the first quarter of this year, 12 batches of contaminated animal food products were seized by customs agents, weighing a total of 114 kilograms, a two- fold year- on- year increase.

The confiscated products mostly originated in Japan, South Korea and Germany.

According to documents issued by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2012, animal- derived products for consumption by animals or humans must be approved by the relevant Chinese authorities and have inspection documents from their country of origin before being imported into China.

Also, as part of the country’s boosted efforts on regulating imported goods that were ordered online, around 30 tons of imported products which were out- of- date, of low quality or could otherwise not pass official inspections, were destroyed safely under the supervision of the Chongqing Inspection and Quarantine Bureau on Wednesday, the China News Service reported.