Mike
Well-known member
There has been much discussion here on the "Food Safety" issue of testing for BSE. Common sense tells us if an animal is prevented from entering the food chain by means of a BSE test, we can only agree that the testing adds to "Food Safety", but not for food safety alone. Testing also is used for surveillance.
The European Commission on Food Safety agrees:
(From the EFSA Website)
__________________________________________________________
For what purpose can the tests be used?
Tests may be used for surveillance and also to provide additional protection for the consumer.
1. Surveillance
Tests can be used to determine if BSE exists in a population and to obtain an indication of its prevalence. Used over time these can be used to monitor changes in the level of the disease. This type of surveillance can be carried out by testing risk groups of animals, especially cows which have died on farms or cows presented for emergency slaughter. If BSE occurs, it is more likely to be found in this population so the sampling is more effective. Actively searching for the disease in this manner is more likely to detect it in a population (if it exists there) than passive monitoring, i.e. waiting for farmers to report suspicious signs.
The European Union will apply such a testing programme amongst its "at-risk" population on all animals over 30 months from 1.1.2001 onwards.
2. Additional Health protection
BSE is a relatively rare disease. However, routine testing of animals prior to slaughter may detect animals presented for slaughter which may have unnoticed signs of BSE and also animals with the disease which are not yet showing signs. The identification and removal of these animals will be an additional protection for the consumer. However, the prime method of consumer protection is the removal of specified risk material like brain or spinal cord from every animal slaughtered. These tissues harbour almost all infectivity if any present. Removal of specific risk materials is obligatory in the EU since 1.10.2000.
PrPres is always found in brain and central nervous tissue in animals with clinical signs of the disease and in animals in the months before they develop the disease. Its presence in cattle appears to parallel the development of infectivity.
The EU will apply such a testing programme on all bovine animals over 30 months of age from 1.7.2001 onwards. Until then, all animals over 30 months which cannot be tested will need to be destroyed.
The European Commission on Food Safety agrees:
(From the EFSA Website)
__________________________________________________________
For what purpose can the tests be used?
Tests may be used for surveillance and also to provide additional protection for the consumer.
1. Surveillance
Tests can be used to determine if BSE exists in a population and to obtain an indication of its prevalence. Used over time these can be used to monitor changes in the level of the disease. This type of surveillance can be carried out by testing risk groups of animals, especially cows which have died on farms or cows presented for emergency slaughter. If BSE occurs, it is more likely to be found in this population so the sampling is more effective. Actively searching for the disease in this manner is more likely to detect it in a population (if it exists there) than passive monitoring, i.e. waiting for farmers to report suspicious signs.
The European Union will apply such a testing programme amongst its "at-risk" population on all animals over 30 months from 1.1.2001 onwards.
2. Additional Health protection
BSE is a relatively rare disease. However, routine testing of animals prior to slaughter may detect animals presented for slaughter which may have unnoticed signs of BSE and also animals with the disease which are not yet showing signs. The identification and removal of these animals will be an additional protection for the consumer. However, the prime method of consumer protection is the removal of specified risk material like brain or spinal cord from every animal slaughtered. These tissues harbour almost all infectivity if any present. Removal of specific risk materials is obligatory in the EU since 1.10.2000.
PrPres is always found in brain and central nervous tissue in animals with clinical signs of the disease and in animals in the months before they develop the disease. Its presence in cattle appears to parallel the development of infectivity.
The EU will apply such a testing programme on all bovine animals over 30 months of age from 1.7.2001 onwards. Until then, all animals over 30 months which cannot be tested will need to be destroyed.