Sixty kilograms of beef products, all from the mad cow disease rampant Washington State, were seized on a US cargo ship, the Ningbo-based newspaper Contemporary Gold reported Monday.

The cargo ship was scheduled to sail from the United States to several Chinese ports, and Ningbo was its first stop. The beef was found last Saturday evening when local officials began routine inspections. Ningbo Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau immediately sealed up the beef for safekeeping, and carried out an inspection on related persons.

The beef was said to be purchased in Tacoma, Washington State at the end of November, but it is still difficult to judge if the beef came from disease-infected areas or not.

The Ministry of Agriculture and the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), last Thursday announced an immediate ban on imports of US beef and beef-related products after the United States reported its first suspected case of mad cow disease.

Local government departments also strengthened inspection and quarantine of disembarked ships, and related preparatory sanitary work is also under way.

(China.org.cn by Tang Fuchun and Daragh Moller, December 30, 2003)