SKOPJE, Jan 11, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) Macedonia introduced on Thursday the testing of food products imported from Yugoslavia due to their possible contamination by radioactive materials, the national institute for health protection announced.

The measure was introduced amid growing fears that NATO's use of depleted uranium munitions in the Balkans might be linked with deaths among soldiers and other personnel who served in the region.

Officials will take samples from food products upon their arrival at the Macedonian border for immediate testing, the institute said in a statement.

Such controls had been introduced in Macedonia in 2000 but were interrupted after tests showed that the products were not contaminated.

U.S. fighter jets fired some 31,000 DU rounds during the NATO air campaign against Yugoslavia, according to the Pentagon. Another 10,800 rounds were fired in 1994-95 in Bosnia, where many of those afflicted were stationed. ((c) 2001 Agence France Presse