Posted on 09/21/2005 12:21:57 PM PDT by 11th_VA
British meals ready-to-eat donated for Hurricane Katrina victims as part of an international relief effort have sat on shelves at an air base in Arkansas because of U.S. regulations put in place after a mad cow disease scare.
The MREs were shipped to Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, which has been the hub for all international Katrina aid. The base has received 1,842 tons of goods from dozens of countries since the hurricane hit the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29.
U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations prohibit the importation of British beef and poultry. The prohibition was put in place after a degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system was found in British cattle.
"We have an obligation to hold the food we're distributing to evacuees to the same standards we maintain for all Americans on a daily basis," Agriculture Department spokeswoman Terri Teuber said. "We are not saying these MREs are unfit or unsafe. We're saying they don't meet the importation standards, and they are being set aside."
Teuber said the numbers of meals involved was not available and that some of the MREs were distributed. She also said discussions were under way about possible ways to use additional meals and that other food and goods have made their way to the Gulf Coast.
"We are grateful for the donations, and they are being put to very good use," Teuber said.
In all, some 400,000 MREs were donated by foreign countries, said Army Major Paul Swiergosz, a spokesman for the Defense Department.
Darla Jordan, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, said American officials work with the countries that make the donations to determine what to do with the donated items as they are received. When the food is needed it is easy to separate from other products because the meals are in divided pouches, Swiergosz said.
AHA!
One of the UK papers (mirror?) had an article that the US was going to burn all the UK donations. Conveniently, the concept of mad cow disease was left out...
I saw that article yesterday on a British site, followed by a bunch of typical US-bashing.
The article actually quoted a guy who said the US had more cases of Mad Cow disease than the UK! That guy probably works at the Mirror.
My only question is, why burn it? Why not just send it back to the Brits and let them donate it to another cause?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.