June 4, 2007

EU asked to end ban on farm feed

The European Commission is urged to lift its ban on using animal remains in farm feed as farmers believe the restriction has caused the inflation of feed prices.  

The ban, brought in across Europe in 2000, has been implemented due to fears that feed was behind the spread of mad cow disease.

Scientists are now carrying out tests to find out whether the use of pig and chicken carcasses as fodder could be resumed without posing any human health risks.

Members of the EU's advisory Economic and Social Committee (EESC) have now recommended speeding up the reintroduction of allowing animal remains to be used in farm feed. The ban was asked to be relaxed two years ago.

The committee said it urged EU to speed up studies under way "which clearly show that the use of meat meal from non-ruminants can be used in pig and poultry feed without posing any danger to human health".

Carcasses which would otherwise be used as protein in animal feed must be thrown away as well as the extra demand for vegetable protein since the ban has kept feed prices high.

The Economic and Social Committee, made up of representatives of employers' groups, trades unions and consumer organisations, has no legislative power, but routinely delivers opinions on proposed EU rules.

On this occasion, the committee is trying to push for an end to the ban by advocating that pig meat is safe to feed to chickens and chicken meat to pigs.

A research project worth more than 1 million British pounds is now under way to reassess the impact of meat and bone meal in animal feed, but there are no proposals yet for a change in the rules.