The Ministry of Agriculture announced last week that it is banning imports of beef from the U.K., France, Switzerland, Portugal, Ireland, and Chile. The decision was made following suspicions that Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), the so-called “mad cow disease” may be passed on to humans eating infected meat. The prohibition also covers beef by-products. The Dominican Republic is self-sufficient in its production of basic meats with some 2.5 million head, and exports beef to the United States.