Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (fda) has imposed a ban on the imports of beef from several European nations, including Portugal, France, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany to prevent the spread of the mad cow disease.

The ban, however, does not include dairy products that are certified to be free from the disease. "A regulation governing imports of livestock products from the members of the European Union has been revised and would soon be made official,' said Ravipong Wongdee, chief of the country's department of livestock development.