Aust. meat halted in U.S.

Press, 18 August 1981, Page 8

Aust. meat halted in U.S.

NZPA Canberra Sanctions. against Australian traders who broke meat export regulations would be toughened and the meat inspection system overhauled, the Primary Industry Minister (Mr Peter Nixon) promised yesterday. He said the Federal Government would take the “strongest possible action” over the recently revealed .shipment of horsemeat from Australia to America in

place of boneless beef. Reports from the United States in recent days say the Australian meat trade there has come to a virtual halt because of the discovery of horsemeat in cartons of what was meant to be Australian boneless beef. The Australian beef trade to the United States is worth about $5OO million annually. . “If we can make it' stick ' I’ll be throwing the book at the .people involved,” Mr Nixon told a Canberra news conference. ■ ?. Existing maximum penalties under Federal laws were inadequate, and he hoped to introduce early legislation to increase them significantly. The Government, would also examine the problem of complex corporate structure

which resulted in crimes oi this nature being pinned only on the final trader. Mr Nixon said that the Government would review control of meat exports after final inspections by Commonwealth inspectors. “It’s after that (stage) that obviously the transfer has taken place,” he said. The discovery in the United States of horsemeat masquerading as Australian beef was a “very serious matter” for the Australian

meat trade. The affair had allowed strong American opponents of Australian beef to “get a chip at us.” But Mr Nixon said the official American reaction had been “not unhelpful, they’re giving us time to get it fixed.” “I hope the American / people will take into account ' our 15 years of good honest trading. We’ve been reputable suppliers , and-I hope they’ll take that into account.” ■ Mr Nixon said he believed the switch had taken place in Australia, not the United States, but he had insufficient information to say yet whether the switch was. part of an organised trade or how it had been set up.