Date: March 08, 2006 Time: 11:15
EUROPE VOTES TO END BEEF EXPORT BAN
EU veterinary experts today agreed in Brussels that the 10 year ban on the export of beef and cattle from the UK should be lifted. This means that exports should be able to resume by the end of April or early May.
A meeting of the EU Standing Committee for the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCOFCAH) unanimously approved a Commission proposal to allow the UK to export cattle born on or after 1 August 1996, and beef and beef products derived from cattle slaughtered after 15 June 2005 on the same basis as other Member States.
Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Margaret Beckett, said:
"This is excellent news for the British beef industry. This EU decision is a vindication of controls on BSE and our efforts to eradicate this disease.
"Britain's farmers produce high quality beef which will be in demand across Europe once the ban is lifted.
"We know that our beef is, at the very least, as safe as beef produced anywhere else in the EU."
Exports of beef and cattle when they do resume will be subject to certain rules. Further information on the date when exports can resume and the procedures to be followed will be published shortly. Cattle born before August 1996 will remain permanently excluded from the domestic market and for export.
Notes to editors
1. BSE is a neurological disease affecting cattle, typically in animals aged five years and more. It was first recognised and defined in the United Kingdom in November 1986. More than 183,000 cases have been confirmed in the UK to date. The epidemic peaked at an annual total of more than 37,000 clinical cases in 1992. The number of new clinical cases is currently at the lowest level since recording began.
2. On 27 March 1996, the European Commission imposed a worldwide ban on the export of beef and cattle from the UK following the announcement by the UK Government of the possible link between BSE and vCJD in humans.
3. On 14 July 1999 the Commission announced that the export of deboned UK beef and beef products produced under the Date Based Export Scheme (DBES) could start on 1 August 1999. The UK had also been allowed to export beef and beef products made from foreign origin beef under the XAP Scheme. The strict conditions of these Schemes has meant that exports have been only a fraction of previous levels. In 1995, beef exports were worth £600 million and cattle exports were worth £75 million.
4. On 1 December 2004, the UK Government announced the start of a managed transition towards the lifting of the OTM rule and its replacement with a system of robust testing of cattle for BSE.
5. On 7 November 2005 the Over Thirty Month (OTM) Rule was replaced with a BSE testing regime for cattle aged over thirty months and born on or after 1 August 1996. This followed acceptance by the Government in September 2005 of advice from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that a robust testing regime has been developed following a report from an independent group overseeing trials of the proposed system. Cattle born before 1 August 1996 will continue to be excluded from the food chain.
6. The main public health protection measure - the removal of specified risk material (SRM) - which is estimated to remove over 99% of infectivity in cattle - is rigorously enforced by the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS). Only OTM cattle that receive a negative test result for BSE can be sold for human consumption.
7. The UK's reinforced feed controls, which banned mammalian meat and bone meal from feed for all farmed livestock, effective from 1 August 1996, have led to a particularly sharp fall in BSE cases in cattle born after July 1996.
8. The EU Commission stated that before discussions on lifting the ban could begin, the UK had to satisfy two criteria: incidence of BSE should be below 200 cases per million adult cattle and there should be a favourable outcome to the inspection of our BSE controls in June 2005 by the EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO). The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) confirmed the former in March 2005. For the latter, a satisfactory FVO mission report was published on 28 September 2005. The Commission began discussions with Member States on lifting the ban in November 2005 and made a written proposal to lift the ban in January 2006.
9. The Regulation agreed today permits the export of beef, bovine products and cattle born after 1 August 1996. When the export ban is lifted the UK will be required to harmonise its SRM controls with those applicable in other member states. The most significant change is that the age at which the bovine vertebral column is SRM will be reduced from the current 30 months to 24 months.
10. Currently in the UK SRM vertebral column can only be removed in cutting plants, although the Community TSE Regulation allows member states to exercise a derogation to also remove it in authorised butchers' shops. The Board of the Food Standards Agency will be considering at its meeting on 9 March whether the UK should take advantage of this derogation and allow butchers' shops to remove the vertebral column from animals between 24 - 30 months of age.
11. In addition, the harmonisation of SRM controls will mean that it will be possible to harvest bovine head meat. Presently whole heads of cattle are SRM in the UK. The Community TSE Regulation requires that head meat is removed in slaughterhouses but again allows member states to exercise a derogation to remove it in authorised cutting plants. The Agency Board will also be considering whether or not to take advantage of this derogation at its meeting on 9 March.
12. Before exports can resume, the legislation needs to be formally adopted by the EU's College of Commissioners, translated into all EU languages and then published in the Official Journal of the European Union. UK legislation will also need to be amended.
Public enquiries 08459 335577;
Press notices are available on our website www.defra.gov.uk Defra's aim is sustainable development
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Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
http://www.wired-gov.net/WGLaunch.aspx?ARTCL=37704
TSS
----- Original Message -----
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, March 04, 2006 8:55 PM
Subject: UK - SECRECY OVER DELAY IN LIFTING BEEF EXPORT BAN
##################### Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy #####################
SECRECY OVER DELAY IN LIFTING BEEF EXPORT BAN
11:01 - 01 March 2006
The Government has fuelled concerns of a further delay in lifting the near decade-old beef export ban by refusing to release the correspondence it has had with the European Commission and other member states on the issue.
An attempt to use the Freedom of Information Act to get the Government to reveal all documents and communications on the ending of the ban failed when the request was rejected by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
It said international relations could be damaged if the information was released.
Government officials had until late last year been actively telling industry representatives that a vote on lifting the embargo, imposed as a safety measure against BSE, would be taken by Europe's standing veterinary committee in January - and that the ban would be removed by the end of March.
Those hopes have been dashed and there are fears that the ban will not now be lifted until early summer.
The current plan is for European vets possibly to vote on the issue this month, but there is no guarantee that will happen, as there appears to be a growing number of member states with issues about Britain's return to world beef markets.
Defra currently accepts that the embargo may be in place until at least May, fully two months later than it originally forecast. A spokeswoman said the information sought was exempt from disclosure under sections 27 and 35 of the Act. These relate to the likely damage to international relations and the formulation or development of Government policy.
Katie Barnes, of Defra's BSE and animal by-products division, said: "You will appreciate that negotiations on the lifting of the beef ban, both within the UK and between the UK and other member states, are extremely sensitive, and that these negotiations have now reached a critical stage. Government policy is still being developed on this issue and legislation is being drafted."
Miss Barnes accepted the information on both the internal and external negotiations on lifting of the ban was in the public interest as it affected the livelihoods of British farmers and beef traders, as well as the international standing of the UK beef trade.
But, she added: "We believe that, if the information requested were to be released, the UK negotiating strategy to achieve a lifting of the ban might be prematurely revealed. This could damage our relations with other member states at a crucial time and could even cause the lifting of the ban, and the resumption of exports, to be delayed. This could cause serious damage to the beef industry as they prepare for the resumption of exports."
Within the beef trade there remain widespread concerns at the lifting of the beef ban becoming a political issue in Europe, and the decision being seriously delayed. Any delay in lifting the ban could have serious implications for Britain's domestic beef market, especially as cattle previously excluded from the food chain through the Over Thirty Months Scheme (OTMS) have now returned.
Without exports there is the real likelihood of the beef from these animals causing a huge beef surplus which could ultimately lead to the market collapsing. The market is held up at the moment but that is because the cows coming forward are still very low - about half the number originally expected to be returning to the food chain, but that is because a useful number were put through the OTMS before it ended in January.
Once the cows start coming back in full numbers, there are grave concerns about the impact they will have without an export market.
http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=134844&command=displayContent&sourceNode=134828&contentPK=14108602&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearch
U.K POISONS THE GLOBE WITH THE BSE/TSE AGENT and continued to do so
after they knew what they were doing...
6.52 On 1 December 1989 Dr Pickles sent the Chief Medical Officer, Sir
Donald Acheson, a draft letter to send to MAFF, 'together with copies of
recent PQs to demonstrate that we are not the only ones questioning this
practice'. The draft letter, addressed to the Chief Veterinary Officer,
stated:
There is a matter which I have discussed with you previously and
which in the absence of a satisfactory answer I would now like to
raise more formally. This concerns the continued export of
potentially BSE- and scrapie-contaminated meat and bone meal from
the UK. We acted promptly in this country to ban the feeding of this
material to ruminants last summer. The tardy response from other
nations, with so far only one or two restricting use of UK imports,
suggests that the risk has not been fully appreciated overseas.
Indeed it is unrealistic to expect nations who have not seen any BSE
(yet) to give this any priority. There seems every justification
for, at the very least, persuading UK manufacturers to give written
warnings with exports that the meal is not for feeding to ruminants,
and perhaps to alert the authorities in any nation importing our
material. Whilst such trade may have been limited in the past, with
the new restrictions on domestic outlets, the renderers and
compounders could well be seeking new markets overseas. I hope you
will feel able to look at this again and give me the reassurance I
am seeking. 1
6.53 On 3 January 1990 Sir Donald Acheson wrote to Mr Meldrum (the CVO):
You will recall that we have previously discussed the potential
risks of BSE occurring in other countries as a result of the
continuing exports from the UK of meat and bone that may be
contaminated by scrapie or possibly BSE.
I remain concerned that we are not being consistent in our attempts
to contain the risks of BSE. Having banned the feeding of meat and
bone meal to ruminants in 1988, we should take steps to prevent
these UK products being fed to ruminants in other countries. This
could be achieved either through a ban on the export of meat and
bone meal, or at least by the proper labelling of these products to
make it absolutely clear they should not be fed to ruminants. Unless
such action is taken the difficult problems we have faced with BSE
may well occur in other countries who import UK meat and bone meal.
Surely it is short sighted for us to risk being seen in future as
having been responsible for the introduction of BSE to the food
chain in other countries.
I would be very interested to hear how you feel this gap in the
present precautionary measures to eliminate BSE should be closed. We
should be aiming at the global elimination of this new bovine
disease. The export of our meat and bone meal is a continuing risk
to other countries. 2
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/report/volume3/chapte16.htm
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1990/01/03001001.pdf
The documents below were provided by Terry S. Singeltary Sr
on 8 May 2000. They are optically character
read (scanned into computer) and so may contain typos and unreadable
parts.
TIP740203/l 0424 CONFIDENTIAL Mr Cunningham CMP3 From: D O Hagger
MBI Dr Salisbury MED/IMCD3 Mr Burton PD/STB/PG1B B/17/2 Date:
15.02.1989 Mr Dudley PD/AD4 BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY
snip...
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SECURITY
Richmood House 79 Whitehall, London SW1A 2NS
Telephone 01-210-3000
>From the Chief Medical Officer
Sir Donald Acheson KBE DM DSc FRCP FFCM FFOM
Mr K C Meldrum
Chief Veterinary Officer
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Government Buildings
Hook Rise South
Tolworth
Surbiton
Surrey
KT6 7NG
3 January 1990
BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY
Dear Mr. Meldrum,
You will recall that we have previously discussed the potential risks of
BSE occurring in other Countries as a result of the continuing export
from the UK of meat and bone that may be contaminated by scrapie or
possibly BSE.
I remain concerned that we are not being consistent in our attempts to
contain the risks of BSE. Having banned the feeding of meat and bone
meal to ruminants in 1988, we should take steps to prevent these UK
products being fed to ruminants in other countries. This could be
achieved either through a ban on the export of meat and bone meal, or at
least by the proper labelling of these products to make it absolutely
clear they should not be fed to ruminants. Unless some such action is
taken the difficult problems we have faced with BSE may well occur in
other countries who import UK meat and bone meal. Surely it is short
sighted for us to risk being seen in future as having been responsible
for the introduction of BSE to the food chain in other countries.
I would be very interested to hear how you feel this gap in the present
prcautionary measures to eliminate BSE should be closed. We should be
aiming at the global elimination of this new bovine disease. The export
of our meat and bone meal is a continuing risk to other countries.
Signed
Sincerely Donald Acheson
http://www.mad-cow.org/00/may00_news.html#aaa
BSE 11/2 0202
KH/3129p/8
Dear H Pickles,
BSE AND EXPORTS OF MEAT AND BONE MEAL
You very kindly provided a draft letter for CMO
to send to Mr. Meldrum on this subject. I
understand from CMO tht this was in fact discussed
at their recent meeting and CMO HAS THEREFORE
DECIDED NOT TO PURSUE THE QUESTION.
Dr. D McINNES
Room 109
Richmond House
EXT 5150
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1990/02/27005001.pdf
BSE AND EXPORTS OF MEAT AND BONE MEAL
1. Mr. Meldrum is arguing that MAFF have already taken all
the necessary and responsible steps to warn importing countries
of the BSE dangers in UK meat and bone meal. YET the action
taken so far overseas suggest the message has not got through,
or where it has this has been late. The first nation that
woke up to the danger did so a year after our own feed ban.
It seems even now several EC countries neither ban our
imports or the general feeding of ruminant protein.
IT ALSO SEEMS THE OIE AND CVO HAVE YET TO INFORM THE REST
OF THE WORLD...
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1990/02/20010001.pdf
2. I do not see how this can be claimed to be "responsible".
We do not need an expert group of the Scientific Veterinary
Committee to tell us British meat and bone meal is unsafe for
ruminants. I fail to understand why this cannot be tackled
from the British end which seems to be the only sure
way of doing it, preferably by banning exports. AS CMO
says in his letter of 3 January "surely it is short
sighted for us to risk being seen in future AS HAVING
BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF BSE TO THE FOOD
CHAIN IN OTHER COUNTRIES."
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1990/02/20010001.pdf
17. Mr. Meldrum said that we had had problems with
the Commission on the offal ban. They were talking
about additional controls on the export of glands
and organs for pharmaceutical purposes. If this was
on the agenda for the SVC, it would be useful for a
representatvie from the DOH to be present at the
meeting and he would be in touch with DOH about this.
Sir Donald Acheson said that the Committee on safety
of medicines had said that there was NO RISK associated
with the use of bovine material in vaccines in the UK...
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1990/02/22008001.pdf
BSE PROGRESS REPORT 1987
INTERNATIONAL INTEREST
6. The Agriculture Section of the U.S. Embassy
have sought information from the SVS whilst
ASSURING US THAT THEY ARE NOT seeking to raise
barriers to trade. There has been no other
international reaction or enquiry...
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1987/10/28001001.pdf
Gerald Wells: Report of the Visit to USA, April-May 1989
snip...
The general opinion of those present was that BSE, as an
overt disease phenomenon, _could exist in the USA, but if it did,
it was very rare. The need for improved and specific surveillance
methods to detect it as recognised...
snip...
It is clear that USDA have little information and _no_ regulatory
responsibility for rendering plants in the US...
snip...
3. Prof. A. Robertson gave a brief account of BSE. The US approach
was to accord it a _very low profile indeed_. Dr. A Thiermann showed
the picture in the ''Independent'' with cattle being incinerated and thought
this was a fanatical incident to be _avoided_ in the US _at all costs_...
snip...
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11b/tab01.pdf
UK EXPORTS OF MBM TO WORLD
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11g/tab05.pdf
UK SHEEP/GOAT BSE EXPORT POISONING TO THE WORLD
http://www.vegsource.com/articles/sheep_exports.htm
UK Exports of Beef and Veal (Value) to EU and non EU
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11f/tab08.pdf
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11f/tab10.pdf
UK Exports of Live Cattle by Value 1986-96
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11f/tab11.pdf
UK Exports Statistics: Fat of Bovine Animals,
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11g/tab01.pdf
UK Exports Statistics: Embryos of Bovine Animals.
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11g/tab03.pdf
UK Exports Statistics: Gelatin and it's Derivatives Therof.
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11g/tab02.pdf
UK Exports Statistics: Bovine Semen.
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11g/tab04.pdf
UK Exports Statistics: Meat of Bovine Animals,
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11g/tab05.pdf
TABLE of Exports of meal of meat and meat offal; greaves
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m12/tab12.pdf
8. There was additional UNLICENSED production of dura mater
(grafts) by tissue banks, but there is NO WAY OF TRACING the
extent of usage and it is doubtful how complete information
collected from surgeons about the use of dura as graft material
would be. THERE IS NO REGISTER OF USE OF THESE
PRODUCTS............
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1994/09/21007001.pdf
PONDERING how many of those recipients of those UNLICENSED
dura grafts, how many of those people went on to have further surgeries
and dental procedures and thus potentially spreading the agent even
further...
BSE: MEASURES TAKEN BY THE UK
REPORT FOR THE MONTH TO THE END OF DECEMBER 2005
1. This note fulfils the requirement in Article 15 of Council Decision 98/256 for the UK to send to the Commission every month a report on the application of the protective measures taken against BSE in accordance with national and Community provisions. It also includes background information on cases of BSE and variant CJD. A copy of the information on surveillance for BSE in the UK required by Regulation (EC) No. 999/2001 is attached at Annex A.
BSE cases found from passive surveillance
2005
2. In Great Britain the number of suspected BSE cases placed under restriction in 2005 as at 31 December was 185 compared with 351 as at 31 December 2004, a reduction of 47.29%. BSE has been confirmed in 36 animals placed under restriction in 2005, compared with 82 confirmed cases in the same period in 2004, a decrease of 56.10%. A graph showing the progress of the BSE epidemic is attached at Figure 1. This shows the cases of BSE by month of clinical onset where the date of clinical onset is known. The numbers of suspect cases and diagnoses as at 31 December 2005 are provided in Table 1.
3. In Northern Ireland the number of suspected BSE cases placed under restriction in 2005 as at 31 December 2005 is 18 compared with 36 in the same period in 2004. BSE has been confirmed in 1 animal (restricted in December 2004), compared with 8 confirmed case in the same period in 2004. The numbers of suspect cases and diagnoses as at 31 December 2005 are provided in Table 1(e).
4. Of the 185 animals restricted in Great Britain in 2005 to 31 December, 155 animals were reported as having been slaughtered. There is 2 animal for which slaughter has not yet been reported and 28 had restrictions lifted because an alternative diagnosis was reached. Of the animals slaughtered, there have been 36 cases where BSE was confirmed (82 of the animals restricted in the same period in 2004 were subsequently confirmed as having BSE) and 107 cases where BSE was not confirmed, with 7 diagnoses still outstanding. These figures are summarised in Table 1a and details of the confirmed cases are listed at Annex A, Table 1.
© DEFRA 2004 1
BSE cases found from active surveillance
Great Britain
5. The total number of bovines tested for BSE in all testing categories from 1 July 2001 to 31 December 2005 was 1,976,859 of which 1,690 (~0.09%) cases were confirmed as BSE positive. 341,148 of this total were fallen bovines aged over 24 months of which there have been 400 (~0.12%) positive cases.
6. 525,569 emergency slaughtered bovines aged over 24 months have been tested between July 2001 and 31 December 2005, with 1,186 (~0.23%) positive cases.
7. 48,698 bovines aged over 24 months with clinical signs at ante-mortem inspection were tested between September 2001 and 31 December 2005 with 29 (~0.06%) positive results.
8. A total of 1,056,598 healthy bovines aged over 30 months were tested between December 2001 and 31 December 2005, with 68 positive results. The majority of animals in this group were born after July 1996, with the UK being required to annually test only 10,000 randomly selected animals born prior to this date. Under the EU TSE Regulation the UK was originally required to test all cattle born during the year following the enhanced feed ban, which was considered effective from 1 August 1996. This testing started in September 2001. Commission Regulation 1494/2002 required the expansion of testing to include all cattle born after 1 August 1996 and aged over 42 months. Furthermore the UK voluntarily extended the testing under this category, from 25 October 2004, to all animals aged over 30 months.
9. 4,815 bovines culled under the cull of BSE offspring and birth cohorts were tested between 2001 and 31 December 2005, with 6 positive results.
10. Between January 2002 and 31 December 2005, 123,061 sheep aged over 18 months and presented for slaughter at fresh meat abattoirs were tested for scrapie with 101 positive results confirmed. 17,607 fallen (dead on farm) sheep were tested during this period with 54 scrapie positive results.
11. As at 31 December 2005, 1,571 goats had been tested under an abattoir survey of animals aged over 18 months with 1 testing positive for scrapie. 1,435 fallen (dead on farm) goats were also tested during this period with 4 positive results.
© DEFRA 2004 2
Northern Ireland
12. During 2005 to the end of December, test results confirmed BSE in 22 animals tested under the cattle testing programme. 15 cases were casualty animals, 2 were cohorts of BSE cases and 5 was fallen stock. Further information is included in Annex A.
SEE FULL TEXT 60 PAGES ;
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bse/publications/monrep/monrep93.pdf
TSS
#################### https://lists.aegee.org/bse-l.html ####################
EUROPE VOTES TO END BEEF EXPORT BAN
EU veterinary experts today agreed in Brussels that the 10 year ban on the export of beef and cattle from the UK should be lifted. This means that exports should be able to resume by the end of April or early May.
A meeting of the EU Standing Committee for the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCOFCAH) unanimously approved a Commission proposal to allow the UK to export cattle born on or after 1 August 1996, and beef and beef products derived from cattle slaughtered after 15 June 2005 on the same basis as other Member States.
Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Margaret Beckett, said:
"This is excellent news for the British beef industry. This EU decision is a vindication of controls on BSE and our efforts to eradicate this disease.
"Britain's farmers produce high quality beef which will be in demand across Europe once the ban is lifted.
"We know that our beef is, at the very least, as safe as beef produced anywhere else in the EU."
Exports of beef and cattle when they do resume will be subject to certain rules. Further information on the date when exports can resume and the procedures to be followed will be published shortly. Cattle born before August 1996 will remain permanently excluded from the domestic market and for export.
Notes to editors
1. BSE is a neurological disease affecting cattle, typically in animals aged five years and more. It was first recognised and defined in the United Kingdom in November 1986. More than 183,000 cases have been confirmed in the UK to date. The epidemic peaked at an annual total of more than 37,000 clinical cases in 1992. The number of new clinical cases is currently at the lowest level since recording began.
2. On 27 March 1996, the European Commission imposed a worldwide ban on the export of beef and cattle from the UK following the announcement by the UK Government of the possible link between BSE and vCJD in humans.
3. On 14 July 1999 the Commission announced that the export of deboned UK beef and beef products produced under the Date Based Export Scheme (DBES) could start on 1 August 1999. The UK had also been allowed to export beef and beef products made from foreign origin beef under the XAP Scheme. The strict conditions of these Schemes has meant that exports have been only a fraction of previous levels. In 1995, beef exports were worth £600 million and cattle exports were worth £75 million.
4. On 1 December 2004, the UK Government announced the start of a managed transition towards the lifting of the OTM rule and its replacement with a system of robust testing of cattle for BSE.
5. On 7 November 2005 the Over Thirty Month (OTM) Rule was replaced with a BSE testing regime for cattle aged over thirty months and born on or after 1 August 1996. This followed acceptance by the Government in September 2005 of advice from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that a robust testing regime has been developed following a report from an independent group overseeing trials of the proposed system. Cattle born before 1 August 1996 will continue to be excluded from the food chain.
6. The main public health protection measure - the removal of specified risk material (SRM) - which is estimated to remove over 99% of infectivity in cattle - is rigorously enforced by the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS). Only OTM cattle that receive a negative test result for BSE can be sold for human consumption.
7. The UK's reinforced feed controls, which banned mammalian meat and bone meal from feed for all farmed livestock, effective from 1 August 1996, have led to a particularly sharp fall in BSE cases in cattle born after July 1996.
8. The EU Commission stated that before discussions on lifting the ban could begin, the UK had to satisfy two criteria: incidence of BSE should be below 200 cases per million adult cattle and there should be a favourable outcome to the inspection of our BSE controls in June 2005 by the EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO). The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) confirmed the former in March 2005. For the latter, a satisfactory FVO mission report was published on 28 September 2005. The Commission began discussions with Member States on lifting the ban in November 2005 and made a written proposal to lift the ban in January 2006.
9. The Regulation agreed today permits the export of beef, bovine products and cattle born after 1 August 1996. When the export ban is lifted the UK will be required to harmonise its SRM controls with those applicable in other member states. The most significant change is that the age at which the bovine vertebral column is SRM will be reduced from the current 30 months to 24 months.
10. Currently in the UK SRM vertebral column can only be removed in cutting plants, although the Community TSE Regulation allows member states to exercise a derogation to also remove it in authorised butchers' shops. The Board of the Food Standards Agency will be considering at its meeting on 9 March whether the UK should take advantage of this derogation and allow butchers' shops to remove the vertebral column from animals between 24 - 30 months of age.
11. In addition, the harmonisation of SRM controls will mean that it will be possible to harvest bovine head meat. Presently whole heads of cattle are SRM in the UK. The Community TSE Regulation requires that head meat is removed in slaughterhouses but again allows member states to exercise a derogation to remove it in authorised cutting plants. The Agency Board will also be considering whether or not to take advantage of this derogation at its meeting on 9 March.
12. Before exports can resume, the legislation needs to be formally adopted by the EU's College of Commissioners, translated into all EU languages and then published in the Official Journal of the European Union. UK legislation will also need to be amended.
Public enquiries 08459 335577;
Press notices are available on our website www.defra.gov.uk Defra's aim is sustainable development
To subscribe or unsubscribe to Defra's mailing list go to: http://www.gnn.gov.uk/ Once on the GNN website see Sign up
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
http://www.wired-gov.net/WGLaunch.aspx?ARTCL=37704
TSS
----- Original Message -----
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, March 04, 2006 8:55 PM
Subject: UK - SECRECY OVER DELAY IN LIFTING BEEF EXPORT BAN
##################### Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy #####################
SECRECY OVER DELAY IN LIFTING BEEF EXPORT BAN
11:01 - 01 March 2006
The Government has fuelled concerns of a further delay in lifting the near decade-old beef export ban by refusing to release the correspondence it has had with the European Commission and other member states on the issue.
An attempt to use the Freedom of Information Act to get the Government to reveal all documents and communications on the ending of the ban failed when the request was rejected by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
It said international relations could be damaged if the information was released.
Government officials had until late last year been actively telling industry representatives that a vote on lifting the embargo, imposed as a safety measure against BSE, would be taken by Europe's standing veterinary committee in January - and that the ban would be removed by the end of March.
Those hopes have been dashed and there are fears that the ban will not now be lifted until early summer.
The current plan is for European vets possibly to vote on the issue this month, but there is no guarantee that will happen, as there appears to be a growing number of member states with issues about Britain's return to world beef markets.
Defra currently accepts that the embargo may be in place until at least May, fully two months later than it originally forecast. A spokeswoman said the information sought was exempt from disclosure under sections 27 and 35 of the Act. These relate to the likely damage to international relations and the formulation or development of Government policy.
Katie Barnes, of Defra's BSE and animal by-products division, said: "You will appreciate that negotiations on the lifting of the beef ban, both within the UK and between the UK and other member states, are extremely sensitive, and that these negotiations have now reached a critical stage. Government policy is still being developed on this issue and legislation is being drafted."
Miss Barnes accepted the information on both the internal and external negotiations on lifting of the ban was in the public interest as it affected the livelihoods of British farmers and beef traders, as well as the international standing of the UK beef trade.
But, she added: "We believe that, if the information requested were to be released, the UK negotiating strategy to achieve a lifting of the ban might be prematurely revealed. This could damage our relations with other member states at a crucial time and could even cause the lifting of the ban, and the resumption of exports, to be delayed. This could cause serious damage to the beef industry as they prepare for the resumption of exports."
Within the beef trade there remain widespread concerns at the lifting of the beef ban becoming a political issue in Europe, and the decision being seriously delayed. Any delay in lifting the ban could have serious implications for Britain's domestic beef market, especially as cattle previously excluded from the food chain through the Over Thirty Months Scheme (OTMS) have now returned.
Without exports there is the real likelihood of the beef from these animals causing a huge beef surplus which could ultimately lead to the market collapsing. The market is held up at the moment but that is because the cows coming forward are still very low - about half the number originally expected to be returning to the food chain, but that is because a useful number were put through the OTMS before it ended in January.
Once the cows start coming back in full numbers, there are grave concerns about the impact they will have without an export market.
http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=134844&command=displayContent&sourceNode=134828&contentPK=14108602&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearch
U.K POISONS THE GLOBE WITH THE BSE/TSE AGENT and continued to do so
after they knew what they were doing...
6.52 On 1 December 1989 Dr Pickles sent the Chief Medical Officer, Sir
Donald Acheson, a draft letter to send to MAFF, 'together with copies of
recent PQs to demonstrate that we are not the only ones questioning this
practice'. The draft letter, addressed to the Chief Veterinary Officer,
stated:
There is a matter which I have discussed with you previously and
which in the absence of a satisfactory answer I would now like to
raise more formally. This concerns the continued export of
potentially BSE- and scrapie-contaminated meat and bone meal from
the UK. We acted promptly in this country to ban the feeding of this
material to ruminants last summer. The tardy response from other
nations, with so far only one or two restricting use of UK imports,
suggests that the risk has not been fully appreciated overseas.
Indeed it is unrealistic to expect nations who have not seen any BSE
(yet) to give this any priority. There seems every justification
for, at the very least, persuading UK manufacturers to give written
warnings with exports that the meal is not for feeding to ruminants,
and perhaps to alert the authorities in any nation importing our
material. Whilst such trade may have been limited in the past, with
the new restrictions on domestic outlets, the renderers and
compounders could well be seeking new markets overseas. I hope you
will feel able to look at this again and give me the reassurance I
am seeking. 1
6.53 On 3 January 1990 Sir Donald Acheson wrote to Mr Meldrum (the CVO):
You will recall that we have previously discussed the potential
risks of BSE occurring in other countries as a result of the
continuing exports from the UK of meat and bone that may be
contaminated by scrapie or possibly BSE.
I remain concerned that we are not being consistent in our attempts
to contain the risks of BSE. Having banned the feeding of meat and
bone meal to ruminants in 1988, we should take steps to prevent
these UK products being fed to ruminants in other countries. This
could be achieved either through a ban on the export of meat and
bone meal, or at least by the proper labelling of these products to
make it absolutely clear they should not be fed to ruminants. Unless
such action is taken the difficult problems we have faced with BSE
may well occur in other countries who import UK meat and bone meal.
Surely it is short sighted for us to risk being seen in future as
having been responsible for the introduction of BSE to the food
chain in other countries.
I would be very interested to hear how you feel this gap in the
present precautionary measures to eliminate BSE should be closed. We
should be aiming at the global elimination of this new bovine
disease. The export of our meat and bone meal is a continuing risk
to other countries. 2
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/report/volume3/chapte16.htm
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1990/01/03001001.pdf
The documents below were provided by Terry S. Singeltary Sr
on 8 May 2000. They are optically character
read (scanned into computer) and so may contain typos and unreadable
parts.
TIP740203/l 0424 CONFIDENTIAL Mr Cunningham CMP3 From: D O Hagger
MBI Dr Salisbury MED/IMCD3 Mr Burton PD/STB/PG1B B/17/2 Date:
15.02.1989 Mr Dudley PD/AD4 BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY
snip...
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SECURITY
Richmood House 79 Whitehall, London SW1A 2NS
Telephone 01-210-3000
>From the Chief Medical Officer
Sir Donald Acheson KBE DM DSc FRCP FFCM FFOM
Mr K C Meldrum
Chief Veterinary Officer
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Government Buildings
Hook Rise South
Tolworth
Surbiton
Surrey
KT6 7NG
3 January 1990
BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY
Dear Mr. Meldrum,
You will recall that we have previously discussed the potential risks of
BSE occurring in other Countries as a result of the continuing export
from the UK of meat and bone that may be contaminated by scrapie or
possibly BSE.
I remain concerned that we are not being consistent in our attempts to
contain the risks of BSE. Having banned the feeding of meat and bone
meal to ruminants in 1988, we should take steps to prevent these UK
products being fed to ruminants in other countries. This could be
achieved either through a ban on the export of meat and bone meal, or at
least by the proper labelling of these products to make it absolutely
clear they should not be fed to ruminants. Unless some such action is
taken the difficult problems we have faced with BSE may well occur in
other countries who import UK meat and bone meal. Surely it is short
sighted for us to risk being seen in future as having been responsible
for the introduction of BSE to the food chain in other countries.
I would be very interested to hear how you feel this gap in the present
prcautionary measures to eliminate BSE should be closed. We should be
aiming at the global elimination of this new bovine disease. The export
of our meat and bone meal is a continuing risk to other countries.
Signed
Sincerely Donald Acheson
http://www.mad-cow.org/00/may00_news.html#aaa
BSE 11/2 0202
KH/3129p/8
Dear H Pickles,
BSE AND EXPORTS OF MEAT AND BONE MEAL
You very kindly provided a draft letter for CMO
to send to Mr. Meldrum on this subject. I
understand from CMO tht this was in fact discussed
at their recent meeting and CMO HAS THEREFORE
DECIDED NOT TO PURSUE THE QUESTION.
Dr. D McINNES
Room 109
Richmond House
EXT 5150
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1990/02/27005001.pdf
BSE AND EXPORTS OF MEAT AND BONE MEAL
1. Mr. Meldrum is arguing that MAFF have already taken all
the necessary and responsible steps to warn importing countries
of the BSE dangers in UK meat and bone meal. YET the action
taken so far overseas suggest the message has not got through,
or where it has this has been late. The first nation that
woke up to the danger did so a year after our own feed ban.
It seems even now several EC countries neither ban our
imports or the general feeding of ruminant protein.
IT ALSO SEEMS THE OIE AND CVO HAVE YET TO INFORM THE REST
OF THE WORLD...
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1990/02/20010001.pdf
2. I do not see how this can be claimed to be "responsible".
We do not need an expert group of the Scientific Veterinary
Committee to tell us British meat and bone meal is unsafe for
ruminants. I fail to understand why this cannot be tackled
from the British end which seems to be the only sure
way of doing it, preferably by banning exports. AS CMO
says in his letter of 3 January "surely it is short
sighted for us to risk being seen in future AS HAVING
BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF BSE TO THE FOOD
CHAIN IN OTHER COUNTRIES."
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1990/02/20010001.pdf
17. Mr. Meldrum said that we had had problems with
the Commission on the offal ban. They were talking
about additional controls on the export of glands
and organs for pharmaceutical purposes. If this was
on the agenda for the SVC, it would be useful for a
representatvie from the DOH to be present at the
meeting and he would be in touch with DOH about this.
Sir Donald Acheson said that the Committee on safety
of medicines had said that there was NO RISK associated
with the use of bovine material in vaccines in the UK...
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1990/02/22008001.pdf
BSE PROGRESS REPORT 1987
INTERNATIONAL INTEREST
6. The Agriculture Section of the U.S. Embassy
have sought information from the SVS whilst
ASSURING US THAT THEY ARE NOT seeking to raise
barriers to trade. There has been no other
international reaction or enquiry...
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1987/10/28001001.pdf
Gerald Wells: Report of the Visit to USA, April-May 1989
snip...
The general opinion of those present was that BSE, as an
overt disease phenomenon, _could exist in the USA, but if it did,
it was very rare. The need for improved and specific surveillance
methods to detect it as recognised...
snip...
It is clear that USDA have little information and _no_ regulatory
responsibility for rendering plants in the US...
snip...
3. Prof. A. Robertson gave a brief account of BSE. The US approach
was to accord it a _very low profile indeed_. Dr. A Thiermann showed
the picture in the ''Independent'' with cattle being incinerated and thought
this was a fanatical incident to be _avoided_ in the US _at all costs_...
snip...
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11b/tab01.pdf
UK EXPORTS OF MBM TO WORLD
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11g/tab05.pdf
UK SHEEP/GOAT BSE EXPORT POISONING TO THE WORLD
http://www.vegsource.com/articles/sheep_exports.htm
UK Exports of Beef and Veal (Value) to EU and non EU
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11f/tab08.pdf
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11f/tab10.pdf
UK Exports of Live Cattle by Value 1986-96
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11f/tab11.pdf
UK Exports Statistics: Fat of Bovine Animals,
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11g/tab01.pdf
UK Exports Statistics: Embryos of Bovine Animals.
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11g/tab03.pdf
UK Exports Statistics: Gelatin and it's Derivatives Therof.
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11g/tab02.pdf
UK Exports Statistics: Bovine Semen.
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11g/tab04.pdf
UK Exports Statistics: Meat of Bovine Animals,
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11g/tab05.pdf
TABLE of Exports of meal of meat and meat offal; greaves
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m12/tab12.pdf
8. There was additional UNLICENSED production of dura mater
(grafts) by tissue banks, but there is NO WAY OF TRACING the
extent of usage and it is doubtful how complete information
collected from surgeons about the use of dura as graft material
would be. THERE IS NO REGISTER OF USE OF THESE
PRODUCTS............
http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/yb/1994/09/21007001.pdf
PONDERING how many of those recipients of those UNLICENSED
dura grafts, how many of those people went on to have further surgeries
and dental procedures and thus potentially spreading the agent even
further...
BSE: MEASURES TAKEN BY THE UK
REPORT FOR THE MONTH TO THE END OF DECEMBER 2005
1. This note fulfils the requirement in Article 15 of Council Decision 98/256 for the UK to send to the Commission every month a report on the application of the protective measures taken against BSE in accordance with national and Community provisions. It also includes background information on cases of BSE and variant CJD. A copy of the information on surveillance for BSE in the UK required by Regulation (EC) No. 999/2001 is attached at Annex A.
BSE cases found from passive surveillance
2005
2. In Great Britain the number of suspected BSE cases placed under restriction in 2005 as at 31 December was 185 compared with 351 as at 31 December 2004, a reduction of 47.29%. BSE has been confirmed in 36 animals placed under restriction in 2005, compared with 82 confirmed cases in the same period in 2004, a decrease of 56.10%. A graph showing the progress of the BSE epidemic is attached at Figure 1. This shows the cases of BSE by month of clinical onset where the date of clinical onset is known. The numbers of suspect cases and diagnoses as at 31 December 2005 are provided in Table 1.
3. In Northern Ireland the number of suspected BSE cases placed under restriction in 2005 as at 31 December 2005 is 18 compared with 36 in the same period in 2004. BSE has been confirmed in 1 animal (restricted in December 2004), compared with 8 confirmed case in the same period in 2004. The numbers of suspect cases and diagnoses as at 31 December 2005 are provided in Table 1(e).
4. Of the 185 animals restricted in Great Britain in 2005 to 31 December, 155 animals were reported as having been slaughtered. There is 2 animal for which slaughter has not yet been reported and 28 had restrictions lifted because an alternative diagnosis was reached. Of the animals slaughtered, there have been 36 cases where BSE was confirmed (82 of the animals restricted in the same period in 2004 were subsequently confirmed as having BSE) and 107 cases where BSE was not confirmed, with 7 diagnoses still outstanding. These figures are summarised in Table 1a and details of the confirmed cases are listed at Annex A, Table 1.
© DEFRA 2004 1
BSE cases found from active surveillance
Great Britain
5. The total number of bovines tested for BSE in all testing categories from 1 July 2001 to 31 December 2005 was 1,976,859 of which 1,690 (~0.09%) cases were confirmed as BSE positive. 341,148 of this total were fallen bovines aged over 24 months of which there have been 400 (~0.12%) positive cases.
6. 525,569 emergency slaughtered bovines aged over 24 months have been tested between July 2001 and 31 December 2005, with 1,186 (~0.23%) positive cases.
7. 48,698 bovines aged over 24 months with clinical signs at ante-mortem inspection were tested between September 2001 and 31 December 2005 with 29 (~0.06%) positive results.
8. A total of 1,056,598 healthy bovines aged over 30 months were tested between December 2001 and 31 December 2005, with 68 positive results. The majority of animals in this group were born after July 1996, with the UK being required to annually test only 10,000 randomly selected animals born prior to this date. Under the EU TSE Regulation the UK was originally required to test all cattle born during the year following the enhanced feed ban, which was considered effective from 1 August 1996. This testing started in September 2001. Commission Regulation 1494/2002 required the expansion of testing to include all cattle born after 1 August 1996 and aged over 42 months. Furthermore the UK voluntarily extended the testing under this category, from 25 October 2004, to all animals aged over 30 months.
9. 4,815 bovines culled under the cull of BSE offspring and birth cohorts were tested between 2001 and 31 December 2005, with 6 positive results.
10. Between January 2002 and 31 December 2005, 123,061 sheep aged over 18 months and presented for slaughter at fresh meat abattoirs were tested for scrapie with 101 positive results confirmed. 17,607 fallen (dead on farm) sheep were tested during this period with 54 scrapie positive results.
11. As at 31 December 2005, 1,571 goats had been tested under an abattoir survey of animals aged over 18 months with 1 testing positive for scrapie. 1,435 fallen (dead on farm) goats were also tested during this period with 4 positive results.
© DEFRA 2004 2
Northern Ireland
12. During 2005 to the end of December, test results confirmed BSE in 22 animals tested under the cattle testing programme. 15 cases were casualty animals, 2 were cohorts of BSE cases and 5 was fallen stock. Further information is included in Annex A.
SEE FULL TEXT 60 PAGES ;
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bse/publications/monrep/monrep93.pdf
TSS
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