Trevor Sargent
Question:35 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the guarantee he has that cattle and sheep infected with BSE are not being sold for human consumption before they develop clinical symptoms. [3950/03]
Written Answers. - Bovine Disease Controls.
The measures for the control and eradication of BSE in Ireland are among the most comprehensive in the world. These controls are multi-layered, and designed in such a way that even if one protective layer of control is breached, there are several other layers behind it to ensure that consumers are protected. The primary focus of BSE controls is the prevention of infection, primarily through a ban and on the use of meat and bonemeal in feed for cattle and sheep, and the protection of public health through the removal and destruction of potentially infective materials, the specified risk materials, SRMs, from all bovine and ovine carcasses intended for the human food chain or the animal feed chain. The rapid testing of cattle at slaughter provides added protection.
In so far as the prevention of infection is concerned, the eradication of BSE from the national herd will ultimately provide the best possible protection for consumers. In this regard the change in the age profiles of animals confirmed with BSE in recent years clearly shows that the enhanced feed and SRM controls introduced in 1996 and 1997 have had a dramatic effect on the number of infections since that time. Only 2% of cases diagnosed in 2002 were less than six years old at the time of diagnosis compared with 16% in 2001 and 40% in the year 2000. Furthermore, in the period 1 August – 31 December 2002, the number of cases, at 122, was 32% less than the number – 179 – in the corresponding period in 2001. This trend is continuing in 2003.
In the meantime, rules requiring the removal of SRMs ensure that the tissues which can potentially harbour BSE infectivity are removed from carcasses at slaughterhouses and sent for destruction. This means that even where animals have successfully passed through the other layers of control, indicating that there is no evidence whatever to suggest they have BSE, all such material is removed before the carcass passes onwards into the human food chain. This is arguably the single most significant current control measure from a consumer point of view.
In addition, since 1 January 2001 Ireland, in common with other member states, has had a comprehensive system of targeted active surveillance for BSE in place. Under current EU legislation, all fallen and casualty animals over 24 months of age and all slaughter cattle over 30 months of age are tested for the disease, using a rapid test validated by the EU Commission. In 2002 more than 685,000 such tests were conducted. The carcasses of cattle over 30 months of age are not permitted to enter the human food chain unless the animals in question have tested negative for BSE.
In this context in relation to the two 1999-born BSE cases reported in November and December 2002, the first case was reported by a veterinary surgeon as a result of compulsory notification rules, while the second was detected when it was tested for the disease as the herd cohort of a BSE positive animal. Both of these cases were detected long before the animals could have entered the human food chain, and their early detection illustrates the effectiveness of my Department's multi-layered approach.
Finally, Ireland's handling of all aspects of BSE is subject to ongoing scrutiny from various perspectives by independent bodies such as the EU's food and veterinary office, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and others and has been recognised time and again as comprehensive, rigorous and responsible.