The British government has denied reports that its army was responsible for introducing the foot-and-mouth epidemic.
Agriculture Minister Mr Nick Brown said it was "completely wrong" to suggest the foot-and-mouth virus had been brought into the country through army channels.
A Ministry of Agriculture spokesman had confirmed that slops from the kitchen at Whitburn training camp, near Sunderland, were fed to pigs at a farm in Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland.
The farm, run by brothers Mr Bobby and Mr Ronnie Waugh, is where the epidemic is believed to have originated.
Mr Brown told the BBC all food provided by caterers at the camp conformed to British and European rules which ban imports from areas affected by the disease.
However, the Sunday Telegraph reported: "More than half of the meat served to soldiers is imported, some from Brazil and Uruguay where the serotype O strain of foot-and-mouth - the one ravaging the UK - is endemic."
Mr Brown said it was true the armed forces bought large amounts of frozen meat on the world market "but I do not think the army procurement arrangements are the cause of this disease outbreak".
He said work was under way on whether "something has made our country more vulnerable to viral infection". He could not elaborate on the project yet for legal reasons.
The Sunday Telegraph said the Waugh brothers collect waste food from the camp 10 times a year for processing, under licence, into pigswill.
The last collection was in December, two months before the disease was confirmed at the farm where vets believe it had already been present for several weeks.
However, the Ministry of Defence said Whitburn was just one of a number of sources of waste food used by the brothers to feed their animals.
The Conservatives have said the allegations should be investigated to determine whether the army and not a Chinese restaurant, as had been widely reported weeks ago, was the source of the illness.
"Clearly, there is a risk that the army slops were the source of the foot-and-mouth outbreak," said the Conservatives' agriculture spokesman, Mr Tim Yeo.
The number of foot-and-mouth cases yesterday rose to 1,512 but the rate of increase has slowed in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, the Public Health Laboratory Service has said tests on 13 people suspected of having the disease have proved negative. However, a spokesman said two more people were being tested.
There are also concerns about the disposal of dead animals and protesters at a site in Northumberland yesterday turned away nine truckloads of carcasses.