The Ministry of Trade and Industry on Tuesday reminded the public not to buy or consume any beef and beef products manufactured in 2001 in European Union countries.

The Ministry said in a statement that its attention had been drawn to some brands of beef products that were on the Ghanaian market in spite of a ban following the outbreak of Mad Cow Disease in Europe last year.

"The ban on the importation of beef and beef products from European countries is still in force," the release said. Corned beef brands from France, Spain Portugal, Denmark, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Belgium currently on the market included Hereford Corned Beef, Max Corned Beef, Beef Pate and Ester Corned Beef.

In December 2000 and in the first quarter of 2001, the Ministry issued notices alerting the public on the dangers inherent in the consumption of beef and beef products from the affected countries.

The Ministry has instituted investigations into the sources of these products and asked anyone with information on the distributors of these products to inform it. "Any importer found to have contravened the ban would be dealt with according to the law," the statement said.