This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Changes to BSE controls
15/09/2005
Following a decline in BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) in the UK, cattle aged over 30 months will be allowed into the food chain for the first time since 1996.
BSE was first identified in the UK in 1986. More than 183,000 cases have been confirmed in the UK to date, of which more than 95 per cent were detected before 2000.
The epidemic peaked at an annual total of more than 37,000 clinical cases in 1992 and the number of new clinical cases is currently at the lowest level since recording began. There were 90 clinical and 253 cases detected through testing in 2004, the vast majority in cattle born before August 1996. The UK's reinforced feed controls, effective from August 1996, have led to a particularly sharp fall in BSE cases in cattle born on or after that date.
After considering advice from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Ministers have confirmed that they will accept a recommendation to introduce a rigorous testing system on November 7, 2005 across Scotland, in parallel with action to be taken in the rest of the UK.
Health Minister Andy Kerr, commenting on the public health implications, said:
"Our public health protection measures remain of paramount importance and we are committed to ensuring that we continue to adopt a precautionary approach."
Rural Development Minister Ross Finnie said:
"This decision is a very significant milestone towards our wider objective of achieving the end of the EU Export ban, which currently restricts Scottish beef to home markets.
"It will undoubtedly take time for the marketplace to adjust to the opportunities and challenges that accompany such a change but our producers and processors continually demonstrate an ability to adapt to changing market circumstances. I have every faith that they will do so again on this occasion.
"I understand that the Food and Veterinary Office report of its June 2005 mission to the UK will be finalised later this month. We will continue to press our European partners to secure the abolition of the Date Based Export Scheme before the end of 2005 with the subsequent return of Scotch beef and cattle to European and world markets in 2006."
The principal public health measure, which ensures the removal of all specified risk materials, remains in place and will continue to be vigorously enforced. In advance of the testing regime being implemented a communications plan will be co-ordinated across Government to address the interests of consumers and other key stakeholders.
Older cattle born before August 1, 1996 will continue to be excluded from the food chain and there will be a new legal offence of sending cattle born before August 1996 to abattoirs that produce meat for human consumption.
The move to a testing regime signals the eventual demise of the Over Thirty Month Scheme (OTMS) although the OTMS will remain in operation until at least the end of this year. The intention is that as soon as the OTMS ends, it will be replaced with the Older Cattle Disposal Scheme (OCDS) for animals born before August 1, 1996 which remain excluded from the food chain.
On August 15, 2005, the Food Standards Agency Board advised that an effective system to test cattle aged over 30 months for BSE before they enter the food chain had been successfully designed and trialled.
The Board took into account:
- the report from an independent advisory group on the proposed testing regime
- feedback from the European Union's Food and Veterinary Office inspection in June of the UK's BSE controls
- the outcome of public consultations
The move to testing in the UK mirrors arrangements that have been in place across the rest of Europe since 2001.
The Board also identified a number of prerequisites which would need to be met prior to OTM rule change. These addressed questions of ensuring sufficient abattoir capacity and appropriate supervision by the Meat Hygiene Service as BSE testing commenced; the issuing of new guidance about the rules on emergency slaughter of animals; and the strengthening of legislation to prevent over age animals entering the food chain. These are being taken forward.
Subject to the agreement of the European Commission, the OTM Scheme is expected to close in late December and will be replaced by a new scheme, the Older Cattle Disposal Scheme (OCDS). The OCDS will be restricted to cattle born before August 1, 1996 and will run for three years. It will be funded jointly by the Commission and the UK Government.
The OCDS is designed to help farmers adjust to the OTM rule change. The Commission's support for the three-year successor scheme, rather than a one year scheme it originally favoured, follows concerted lobbying by Ministers and will allow a more managed disposal of older animals than would otherwise have been possible under a shorter term scheme.
A decision to rescind the Export Ban on UK beef needs a qualified majority vote in favour from other member states.
The main public health control measure against BSE entering the food chain is the removal of Specified Risk Material (SRM) which is estimated to remove over 99 per cent of infectivity in cattle.