Chronology of Mad Cow Disease in France
November 27, 2000 - 0:0
February 28, 1991 French Agriculture Ministry announces discovery of first case of mad cow disease at a dairy farm in Brittany.
March 27, 1996 EU imposes worldwide ban on beef exports from Britain, including live animals, semen, embryos and meat of bovine animals slaughtered in Britain, also materials used in manufacture of medical products, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
July 22, 1996 EU scientists say BSE can infect sheep.
September 1996 France prohibits sale of cosmetics containing extracts of central nervous systems of ruminants. Health authorities suspect link between BSE and the fatal human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
December 1996 France suspends imports of live cattle and beef from Switzerland, the European country most affected by mad cow disease after Britain.
1999 July 14 European Commission lifts worldwide ban on British beef exports, effective August 1.
October 1 France maintains its embargo on imports of British beef on the grounds that there were insufficient "scientific guarantees" to lift ban.
October 29 European Commission scientists give British beef clean bill of health, unanimously rejecting evidence which France said supported an import ban.
November 16 European Commission launches legal action against France.
November 30 Britain says scrapping its ban on beef-on-the-bone in a move it hopes will convince France and Germany to remove their embargoes on British beef imports.
December 8 France says sticking to its British beef ban because of insufficient guarantees on safety.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair says France's decision totally wrong.
December 9 European Commission vows to step up legal action against France's continued ban.
December 30 European Commission says will take France to European Court of Justice for failing to end import ban on British beef.
2000 January 17 France reports fresh case of mad cow disease, the first discovered after France registered 31 cases in 1999.
March 14 France's Food Safety Agency approves proposed ban on the "pithing" slaughter method which experts fear may increase the risk of mad cow disease spreading to humans.
April 25 Two herds of cattle totalling 112 animals destroyed in France after discovery of two fresh cases of mad cow disease, bringing to 16 the number of cases so far in 2000.
June 8 France launches scheme to test 48,000 cattle for mad cow disease in bid to measure extent of illness among country's 21 million cattle.
July 3 Four herds of cattle destroyed, bringing the number of cases to 23. One hundred and three cases of BSE have been reported since the epidemic was first detected in 1991.
July 25 A plan to screen thousands of French cattle for mad cow disease yields its first confirmed case of BSE.
October 21 France's Agriculture Ministry says about a ton of beef from a herd in which a case of mad cow disease has been discovered had been sold to supermarket chain Carrefour.
November 3 Russia and Hungary impose restrictions on imports of French beef.
November 6 Revolt against the French government's beef safety assertions widens as authorities in southwestern city of Toulouse ban the meat from school canteen menus. At least 89 officially reported cases of BSE so far this year.
November 7 President Chirac urges government to suspend the use of meat and bone meal in all animal feed immediately.
November 8 The Spanish government bans imports of live breeding cattle from France. French Farm Minister Jean Glavany announces that both he and his children eat beef, in an effort to reassure French consumers.
November 10 Farm Minister Jean Glavany rejects a proposal from the main farm union FNSEA to slaughter millions of cattle in order to wipe out BSE.
November 13 French beef producers call on the European Union to ban the use of meat and bone meal in all animal feed.
November 14 After talks with key ministers, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin announces a series of steps including a ban on the use of bone and meat meal in animal feedstuffs, random tests for cattle entering slaughterhouses and more funds for research into mad cow disease.
(Reuter)
March 27, 1996 EU imposes worldwide ban on beef exports from Britain, including live animals, semen, embryos and meat of bovine animals slaughtered in Britain, also materials used in manufacture of medical products, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
July 22, 1996 EU scientists say BSE can infect sheep.
September 1996 France prohibits sale of cosmetics containing extracts of central nervous systems of ruminants. Health authorities suspect link between BSE and the fatal human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
December 1996 France suspends imports of live cattle and beef from Switzerland, the European country most affected by mad cow disease after Britain.
1999 July 14 European Commission lifts worldwide ban on British beef exports, effective August 1.
October 1 France maintains its embargo on imports of British beef on the grounds that there were insufficient "scientific guarantees" to lift ban.
October 29 European Commission scientists give British beef clean bill of health, unanimously rejecting evidence which France said supported an import ban.
November 16 European Commission launches legal action against France.
November 30 Britain says scrapping its ban on beef-on-the-bone in a move it hopes will convince France and Germany to remove their embargoes on British beef imports.
December 8 France says sticking to its British beef ban because of insufficient guarantees on safety.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair says France's decision totally wrong.
December 9 European Commission vows to step up legal action against France's continued ban.
December 30 European Commission says will take France to European Court of Justice for failing to end import ban on British beef.
2000 January 17 France reports fresh case of mad cow disease, the first discovered after France registered 31 cases in 1999.
March 14 France's Food Safety Agency approves proposed ban on the "pithing" slaughter method which experts fear may increase the risk of mad cow disease spreading to humans.
April 25 Two herds of cattle totalling 112 animals destroyed in France after discovery of two fresh cases of mad cow disease, bringing to 16 the number of cases so far in 2000.
June 8 France launches scheme to test 48,000 cattle for mad cow disease in bid to measure extent of illness among country's 21 million cattle.
July 3 Four herds of cattle destroyed, bringing the number of cases to 23. One hundred and three cases of BSE have been reported since the epidemic was first detected in 1991.
July 25 A plan to screen thousands of French cattle for mad cow disease yields its first confirmed case of BSE.
October 21 France's Agriculture Ministry says about a ton of beef from a herd in which a case of mad cow disease has been discovered had been sold to supermarket chain Carrefour.
November 3 Russia and Hungary impose restrictions on imports of French beef.
November 6 Revolt against the French government's beef safety assertions widens as authorities in southwestern city of Toulouse ban the meat from school canteen menus. At least 89 officially reported cases of BSE so far this year.
November 7 President Chirac urges government to suspend the use of meat and bone meal in all animal feed immediately.
November 8 The Spanish government bans imports of live breeding cattle from France. French Farm Minister Jean Glavany announces that both he and his children eat beef, in an effort to reassure French consumers.
November 10 Farm Minister Jean Glavany rejects a proposal from the main farm union FNSEA to slaughter millions of cattle in order to wipe out BSE.
November 13 French beef producers call on the European Union to ban the use of meat and bone meal in all animal feed.
November 14 After talks with key ministers, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin announces a series of steps including a ban on the use of bone and meat meal in animal feedstuffs, random tests for cattle entering slaughterhouses and more funds for research into mad cow disease.
(Reuter)