THE National Farmers Union has urged consumers to buy British after five animals imported from France, as part of post-FMD restocking measures, gave a reaction in blood tests for brucellosis during recent post-import checks.

One of the animals, in a consignment of 44 cattle imported from France on February 4, gave a positive result when subjected to routine post-import testing at the premises of arrival in Cumbria. Another four animals gave inconclusive test results.

Mr Elwyn Maddy, regional chairman for NFU West Midlands, said: "The message is clear, buy home-produced meat and consumers can rely on its safety."

He said the fact such problems were being picked up so quickly by the Government was positive for consumers whose interests are being protected. The animal that reacted positively to the test has been slaughtered with none of the meat entering the human food chain. Further tests at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, using bacteriological culture techniques, are being carried out on samples taken from the animal. It may take up to three weeks to confirm a negative result.

The other four cattle that showed inconclusive results to initial tests are being subjected to further blood tests along with the rest of the herd. The whole consignment has been put under movement restrictions.

DEFRA is continuing to investigate whether the imported consignment complied with the EU rules that were in place at the time of import. It is also checking that the animals did not come into contact with other cattle since their arrival.

Brucellosis is transmissible to humans. The main risk is through direct contact with the animals, especially at and around the time of calving when the organism is excreted in large numbers.

It may also be transmitted via unpasteurised milk but this suspect animal does not pose a risk because as an in-calf heifer it has never been milked. The Food Standards Agency has accordingly been informed.

The UK is officially free of the disease, having not had an outbreak for almost ten years. The last outbreak was in 1993 when the disease was introduced into Great Britain by imported cattle.

The suspect case is a timely reminder of the need for farmers to carefully plan the purchase of livestock when restocking farms post-FMD. Last October, the Chief Veterinary Officer Jim Scudamore launched two booklets aimed at raising awareness of the risk of introducing or spreading diseases when restocking.

Animal Health Minister Elliot Morley stressed the restocking of herds affected by FMD needed to be carefully planned. "While there are many factors to be taken into consideration when purchasing stock, controlling the risk of introducing disease needs to be a priority for farmers."