Mallorca Bulletin

SPANISH PORK IS BACK ON THE MENU

London.—Britain said this week it would allow pork imports from parts of Spain unaffected by African swine fever (ASF), reversing a blanket ban imposed last week after the country reported its first cases of the disease in more than three decades. The move aligns Britain with the European Union’s regionalisation approach, which restricts trade only from outbreak zones. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said imports from the Barcelona area would remain suspended, while pork from other regions could resume. “Following an outbreak of African swine fever in Spain, all fresh pork and other impacted products from the region affected are restricted,” a Defra spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. It said that “exports from diseasefree areas of Spain can continue as normal”, adding that they would continue to monitor the situation. Spain confirmed nine ASF infections in wild boar near Barcelona, prompting emergency measures in Catalonia, a region central to pig farming. The virus does not affect humans but is fatal to pigs and has no vaccine or cure. Spain is the EU’s largest pork producer and a major supplier to Britain, shipping 37,600 tonnes of pork so far this year. Seguir leyendo