December 13, 2006

 

UK plants breach BSE rules, regulator finds

 

 

About 10 percent of British meat cutting plants have been violating regulations on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), according to a survey by the country's food regulator.

 

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) found material from the spinal cord, termed as specific risk material (SRM) in the food chain.

 

The EU's 10-year-ban on UK beef exports came to an end earlier this year on the condition that the UK maintain strict safety controls in place.

 

The survey of all beef processing plants in the UK was launched after the FSA discovered in July, specific risk material in a beef carcass of cattle aged between 24 and 30 months. Tallow and pet food containing some of the meat was exported, resulting in a EU-wide alert.

 

More recently, in November, Dunbia in Northern Ireland found that a cow over the age of 30 months had entered the food chain without being tested for BSE. The incident was termed a human error as the ones handling mistakenly identified a 54-month-old cow as being less than 30 months old.

 

It is a rule in the UK to test all cattle aged over 30 months for BSE and vertebral column from carcasses of cattle aged over 24 months be removed, stained and disposed of as Category 1 animal by-product (ABP).

 

For cattle aged over 30 months at slaughter, the SRM VC must be removed at a cutting plant that has been specifically authorised for this purpose.

 

While surveying a total of 465 red meat cutting plants handling beef in Great Britain and 24 in Northern Ireland, the FSA ruled out any breach of rule in any of the Northern Ireland plant. About 90 percent of plants in Great Britain were also found to be compliant with the law with 10 percent said to have "probable non-compliance." About 57 percent of the non-compliant plants seemed to have allowed meat from 24-30-month cattle to be sold on without removal of the vertebral column (VC) from the carcass.

 

Another 9 percent of the non-compliant plants failed to stain SRM, while another 2 percent used an incorrect stain. Other plants failed to correctly categorise SRM VC material before shipping, or sent them to abattoirs that were not approved as intermediate plants.

 

The FSA then took enforcement action against the non-compliant plants.