(Adds details, background) BRUSSELS, June 30 (Reuters) - The European Union will allow imports of fresh meat from more areas of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay after EU food experts said the bloc's health regulations had been met. "Recently, the competent authorities of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay have made considerable efforts to improve the animal health situation in their respective countries, and in particular as regards foot and mouth disease," the EU's executive Commission said in a statement on Monday. In Argentina, exporters in parts of the provinces of Neuquen and Rio Negro would be allowed to ship different types of meat to the 27-nation bloc. In Brazil, the states of Parana and Sao Paulo -- both important farming centres -- received authorisation for export of de-boned and matured beef, two years after they were barred. Ranchers in Paraguay gained clearance for exports of the same products, the statement said. In January, the European Union suspended all beef imports from Brazil, citing food safety concerns about the meat's lack of traceability. The EU eased those restrictions in February but has still been allowing beef shipments only from 106 Brazilian farms. The Commission said Monday's decision to relax the ban on exporters in Sao Paulo and Parana states meant they would now have to comply with the special requirements for Brazilian beef exporters as a whole. (Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Dale Hudson)
Mothers and newly born babies are seen on mattresses in a room of Hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa June 26, 2008. Health authorities in Honduras say the infant mortality rate is 10.1 ...
