Russia temporarily bans German meat imports

"According to our calculations we could lift (the ban) after February 10th - 15th," for poultry and by the end of March for pork, said Russia's deputy chief of veterinary services Nikolai Vlassov, in remarks cited by RIA Novosti.

Germany's dioxin poisoning scandal began earlier this month with reports that a north German firm may have supplied fatty acids only meant for industrial uses to makers of animal feed late last year. The feed was then widely distributed.

Moscow announced in early January it had reinforced checks on meat coming from Germany and other European countries.

On Monday, European Union health commissioner John Dalli warned that new bloc-wide measures were needed to prevent a repeat of the farm produce poisoning scare.

Source: AFP