I am aware of recent references in the media to the sale of beef on the bone. In contrast to the situation in the UK, where the introduction of a ban created considerable controversy, the sale of beef on the bone was never legally banned in Ireland. However, the Minister for Health and Children, while recognising that the risk to consumers was extremely low, advised as a precautionary measure, in December 1997, that beef with backbone attached should not be sold to consumers. This advice has not been withdrawn.
Neither my Department nor, to my knowledge, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland has issued any general recommendations on consumption of beef on the bone. The UK authorities recently decided to lift the ban which had been in place in that jurisdiction.
Although the incidence of BSE in this country is markedly different from that in the UK and there are a number of significant differences between our respective approaches in implementing BSE controls, the question of conducting an assessment of the theoretical level of risk posed by beef on the bone in Ireland is under consideration.
