Germany's soccer team have emergency plans to transport hundreds of kilos of home produced beef to England during June's European soccer championship after the "mad cow" disease furore in Britain.

Team cook Fritz Westermann said yesterday he had made contact with a Bavarian butcher who could guarantee the quality of his meat and had helped the national team in the past.

The German soccer squad and officials need 40 kilos of meat each day during the three week championship and a preceding training camp in Northern Ireland in May.

If necessary, officials are prepared to fly the food in from Germany.

Westermann said: "It is not just a matter of the meat, it's sausages as well. And ham, milk, cheese and yoghurt.

Westermann said he had arranged for German beef to be taken on a recent trip to Wales.

"I know some people laugh at me for being so fussy. But experts knew before about the danger of the beef in Britain. The extent of it, however, has upset my stomach," he said.