Press Release - EU’s cautious suggestions on easing BSE controls still offer some hope for overburdened industry.

NATIONAL BEEF ASSOCIATION

(Press statement – No embargo)

July 19th 2010

EU’s cautious suggestions on easing BSE controls still offer some hope for overburdened industry.

The European Commission’s strategy paper outlining its suggestions for a re-modelled of the TSE Road Map, the EU’s exit plan from BSE and its costly restrictions, has been welcomed by the NBA, who views it as an opportunity to ease the cost burden of SRM (specific risk material) removal and the brain stem testing of cattle over 48 month olds for BSE, through a progressive, annual, lift in the age of animals required to be tested.

“It is clear that even though only 67 BSE cases were recorded across the entire EU over 2009 and the projected figure for 2010/11 is likely to be less, the Commission is still just as cautious over the theoretical risk as the original Road Map of 2005, the National Beef Association has noted.

“The Commission is prepared to be tolerant in the use of MBM or Processed Animal Protein (PAP) as a feed product for some animals like pigs or poultry, but the use of bovine MBM as a feed is out of the question and so the cost of disposing SRM will continue for the beef industry”, explained NBA director, Kim Haywood.

“However a positive note in the SRM removal area, is that intestine, which through its bulk and weight adds heavily to the overall disposal cost of SRM, may be removed from the SRM list sometime before the end of 2015 if a move to align EU regulations with those applied at global level by the World Animal Health Body (OIE) is successful.”

Other cost savings would come by raising the age for compulsory BSE testing above the current level of 48 months, which has been adopted in the UK and eleven other EU countries.

“The Commission stresses that here too it must take a risk based approach when easing anti-BSE controls - and then reveals that in 2009 it cost the beef industry over 10 million Euros to detect each BSE case identified through post-slaughter brain stem testing,” said Ms Haywood. 

“Before the age limit was raised to 48 months the cost was over 14 million Euros for each BSE case detected. This confirms that much of the cost burden placed on the industry through brain stem testing could be relieved through a progressive, annual, incremental lift in the age of animals required to be tested, or the freeing from testing of all animals born after December 31st 2004, and the NBA will be pressing Commission specialists on this.”

“Some risk based easement may also be introduced to modify current cohort culling policies.  Currently all cattle born into a herd 12 months either side of a BSE case are culled as precautionary measure – and if a cow is confirmed with BSE its most recent progeny must also be destroyed.”

“Last year no cohorts were detected positive for BSE (there were two in 2008) and so the Commission could decide to authorise the slaughter of cohorts for human consumption subject to them testing negative for BSE,” Ms Haywood added.

For more information contact:

Kim Haywood, NBA director. Tel. 0131 336 1754/07967 698936

Editor’s Note.

Last Friday, July 16th, the European Commission released a strategy paper, “The TSE Road Map 2” which is aimed at promoting discussion between Brussels and the beef and sheep industry across all EU members states.