THE BSE crisis in Germany continued to deepen as two Government ministers resigned over their handling of the issue.

Health minister Andrea Fischer and agriculture minister Karl-Heinz Funke both resigned on Tuesday over their handling of the BSE crisis in Germany where ten cases of BSE have now been reported and beef sales have fallen dramatically.

The growing numbers of BSE cases on German farms prompted Chancellor Gehardt Schroder to call for an end to what he called "industrial agriculture" in favour of improved food safety and a more caring approach to the environment.