February 20, 2006

Germany to adjust BSE testing age to EU level

Germany plans to adjust testing for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to EU levels in April, according to USDA's Feb 16 report on Germany's livestock and products.

The EU requires all cattle above 30 months of age to be tested for BSE. Currently, the German government requires all cattle above 24 months of age to be tested for BSE.

The issue of replacing the German requirement with the EU-wide standard has been discussed by the German meat industry in the past two years. The industry complained that the lower testing age has disadvantaged them compared to other EU producers, with no visible benefits to consumers.

Some EUR4 million was the additional costs estimated by the German Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection for BSE tests of animals between 24 and 30 months in 2005.

On Feb 9, 2006, the Deputy State Secretaries for Agriculture and Food Safety of the 16 German states admitted that lifting the general testing age in Germany to the EU level of 30 months would not pose public health threats.

Saying the order will take a minimum of six weeks to go through the legal process, USDA expects the adjusted testing requirement to go into effect in April.

For the full USDA report, click here.