The National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service said Friday 95 percent of meats brought in this year by Korean travellers returning home failed quarantine tests.

Customs officials confiscated 2,512 kg out of the 2,665 kg of meat which the service examined last month at Kimpo International Airport.

Meat from Europe, where mad cow disease continues to spread, accounted for 17.8 kg of the 2,512 kg confiscated.

Of the eleven cases from Europe, five came from Germany, three from France, two from Italy and one from Austria. The tourists mainly carried beef, sausage and turkey meat.

The service hopes to convince travellers to simply refrain from bringing in meat from foreign nations since quarantine certificates are so difficult to obtain.