Farmers are demanding a ban on German beef exports after remnants of spinal cord were found at a Sussex abattoir yesterday.

The cord, which could potentially contain BSE, was discovered in a consignment of German beef at Anglo Dutch Meats in Eastbourne.

Slaughter inspectors found spinal cord in two out of 203 forequarters of beef from an abattoir in Wilhelmshaven, north-west Germany.

Under EU law the material should have been removed immediately after slaughter.

It is the seventh time contaminated German beef has been found in the UK this year and the fourth time at ADM.

National Farmers' Union president Ben Gill said: "We have well and truly reached the end of our tether - the European Commission must ban exports of German beef now. The time for words has gone. We need action now.

"British farmers stick to these regulations. They are totally fed up of this situation, especially when they are struggling to survive foot and mouth. They are not in the frame of mind to be forgiving."

But ADM managing director Nik Askaroff said: "Once again the inspection checks in the factory have proved they work effectively.

"Less than two grammes of spinal cord were found in more than 1,000 tonnes of beef. With the quantities of beef we have coming in here we would always expect to find one or two minor difficulties.

"There was never any risk of the spinal cord getting into the food chain."

Mr Askaroff said it would not be practical to ban imports of German beef, which, in many cases, has undergone even more stringent safety checks than British beef.

He said: "If the farmers' union thinks we can live in isolation they are being unrealistic about the future of agriculture within Europe."

The Food Standards Agency has raised the latest violation with the German Federal Ministry of Health and with the European Commission.

So far this year there have been 46 cases of BSE in Germany and 92 in the UK.