CHINESE restaurateurs have invited agriculture minister Nick Brown to dine in Newcastle's Chinatown, in an effort to allay public fears.
Restaurants in Stowell Street have lost 40 per cent of their business since allegations that it was contaminated waste from Chinese eateries which had been used as pigswill and caused the epidemic.
The Ministry of Agriculture has discounted the allegations.
A spokesman for Newcastle MP Mr Brown has indicated that he may well dine at Chinatown to show there is nothing to fear.
The spokesman said: "Nick Brown has already said he often goes to the area and hopes he will be welcomed there again. We will consider the invitation when it arrives."
Restaurateur Clint Woo said all meat used in Chinatown was bought locally.
He said yesterday: "It would be impossible and impractical for us to import meat from abroad, and there is no need to stay away."
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