Belarus may extend ban on sausage snack imports for one year

The import of sausages was banned on August 11 because of food-and-mouth disease outbreak in England. The European Radio for Belarus explores why the ban remains in force despite the fact that the epidemic was eliminated three month ago when all the affected cattle was destroyed.

The press office of the Belarusian Customs Committee said that customs officers simply follow orders. When the ban is lifted, they will stop seizing unfinished chicken and sandwiches from passengers.

Meanwhile, customs officials advise all those who cross the Belarusian border to “destroy” their travel snacks. According to Iryna Ashgirevich, the deputy chief of the customs crossing point in Brest, if you want to bring in a grilled chicken from abroad, you have to obtain permission from the veterinary control authorities.

Iryna Ashgirevich: “We have this service available at the border. We forward passengers to a veterinary doctor who will give a go-ahead or not. Sandwiches are not subjected to control during your trip. But if you want to import some meat products, you will be forwarded to a veterinary doctor. I don’t know what the vets do afterwards with all these chickens”.

The Customs Control Committee told the European Radio for Belarus that the importation of sausages was banned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The ministryr is eventually to decide when the ban should be lifted. Vital Masarnouski, an official from the ministry’s veterinary inspection department, said that the ban could remain in effective through August 11, 2008. Quarantine is normally declared for one year.

Vital Masarnouski: “Quarantine for the foot-and-mouth disease is removed from a country one year after the registration of the last disease case. If today, October 31, the epidemic breaks out in any other country, the quarantine will be removed only October 31, 2008”.

The foot-and-mouth disease outbreak was reported in England, but the ban applies to all the countries. According to Mikhail Aksyonau, the chief of veterinary department, it makes no difference where the epidemic broke out. The border is closed for everyone.

Mikhail Aksyonau: “It makes no difference to us whether it was England, Poland, Russia, etc. The principle is that all the nations do not allow the import of meat in the hand baggage”.

When asked whether our neighbors introduced a similar ban, the official responded that all countries have certain restrictions and advised to take 50 kg of pork to EU countries. The officials also have different views on whether it is allowed to bring a sandwich or a grilled chicken across the border. Vital Masarnouski advised to eat up everything before the border, while Mikhail Aksyounay says nobody will take them away from you.

Mikhail Aksyonau: “Nobody will take away your chicken on the train. You will bring it back home and eat it with your family”.

The quarantine may be lifted earlier on condition that the Belarusian veterinarians are convinced that no infection ends up in this country in a foreign sandwich.

Vital Masarnouski: “If we are convinced that all the conditions for preventing the dissemination of the virus are met, the quarantine may be lifted after six months”.

Meanwhile, all the sandwiches and sausages found by customs officers on tourists are destroyed by members of a special commission. At the same time, neither the Customs Control Committee nor the Ministry of Agriculture and Food were able to confirm how many “smuggled” sandwiches have been destroyed since August.