Czech vets ban poultry imports from EU because of beef proteins

The Czech State Veterinary Authority has banned imports of poultry from the European Union as of July 11 until further notice. The veterinary authority said they discovered beef proteins in poultry imported to the UK from the Netherlands. Beef proteins are added to chicken meat to increase water absorption, however, such a practice is prohibited in the Czech Republic. The ban applies to all EU countries but the veterinary authority is investigating which countries use this technology in order to restrict the ban to them. The Czech Republic does not import poultry from the Netherlands at present. The last poultry imports from the Netherlands took place in February and there is no information as to whether the meat came from the three companies that used the prohibited method.