IMPORTING beef from the US risks bringing chronic wasting disease and mad cow disease to Australia, a respected NSW Government body says.
New rules came into effect on Monday allowing the importation of beef into Australia from "mad cow" affected countries.
But a letter from the Livestock Health and Pest Authority to Agriculture Minister Tony Burke said CWD posed a health risk to humans as well as cattle.
He said the risk of importing CWD was "real".
CWD is "notorious for cross-species contamination" and is carried by deer in North America where co-grazing between deer and cattle is "common", the letter said.
LHPA chairman Mark Honey said the NSW Government had gagged LHPA officials from talking publicly about the issue.
The Cattle Council of Australia took out advertisements in metropolitan newspapers this week assuring the public beef on Australian shelves was safe.
No country has yet applied to send beef to Australia under the new rules.
