Vol. 530 No. 3
106 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the sanctioning that butchers who sell meat with specified risk material attached should face; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3532/01]
The rules on specified risk material are laid down in the Diseases of Animals (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) (Specified Risk Material) Order, 2000 (SI 331 of 2000) and the European Communities (Specified Risk Material) Regulations, 2000 (S.I. 332 of 2000). A person found guilty of a breach of the provisions of the specified risk material order or regulations may be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both. The exclusion of specified risk material from the food chain is one of the primary policies in the protection of public health. It is essential that there are strict controls at all relevant points of the production chain.
