1.   And the fact that other governments have waited until this week to ban meat imports from Europe and tighten controls on travellers looks pretty lax.

2.   Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Iran have blocked meat imports from the EU.

3.   Canada also banned meat imports from the European Union, as well as from Argentina, which has found foot-and-mouth disease in the northwest.

4.   Last month, EU inspectors threatened to ban all U.S. meat imports because they said U.S. checks for harmful hormone residues were insufficient.

5.   The European Union has imposed restraints on livestock trading and extended a ban on meat imports from Britain.

6.   The policy may now be more an excuse to bar cheap meat imports than it is sound science.

7.   Chernomyrdin said the Russian government has tightened controls on meat imports as a result of the fraud.

8.   Commission officials said all EU member countries have been informed about the investigation, and instructed to improve monitoring of meat imports.

9.   Commission officials said all EU member countries have been told of the probe and instructed to improve oversight of meat imports.

10.   EU may ban US meat imports over lack of control over hormones,