§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
On whose advice and on what date they first formed the view, stated in the letter sent to Lord Marlesford on 4th June by the Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mrs. Browning), that the introduction in 1988 of the "ruminant feed ban" had not been totally effective in reducing the number of BSE cases that have occurred, probably due to cross-contamination of ruminant feed with meat and bonemeal from other animal feeds both in feedmills and on farms.
Lord LucasWhen the first case of BSE in an animal born after the July 1988 feed ban was confirmed in March 1991, extensive investigations were put in place to look at the food sources to which the animal had been exposed as well as at other possible risks of transmission such as vertical or horizontal transmission to determine whether feed or some other route was responsible for the infection. Initial studies showed that some feed manufactured before the ban had been retained on farms and used after the ban had been introduced. The investigations continued as born after the ban (BAB) cases occurred in animals born in 1989 and subsequent years. By autumn 1994 it was apparent that the geographical distribution of BAB cases differed from that of pre-feed ban BSE cases generally. BAB cases were more prevalent in areas with a high percentage of pig and poultry farms. Pig and poultry feed could legitimately contain meat and bonemeal (MBM) and in such areas there was a higher possibility of cross contamination of ruminant feed with MBM. Also, in August 1994 samples of cattle feed taken on a farm were shown to be cross contaminated with MBM, demonstrating that such cross contamination could occur in practice. Finally, the results of the so-called case control study looking in detail at possible causes of BSE in BAB animals were obtained at the end of 1994. This study found no evidence of horizontal or vertical transmission of BSE in BAB cases and concluded that a foodborne source of infection was the most likely explanation. (Details of this work were published in theVeterinary Record of 1st April 1995 and given in the May 1995 Progress Report on BSE, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.) Putting together all this evidence allowed the conclusion to be drawn that most BAB BSE cases have resulted from exposure to accidentally contaminated ruminant feed. Subsequently, development of an ELISA test to detect the presence of mammalian protein allowed the introduction of a programme of surveillance at feedmills earlier this year. This has shown that the cross contamination of ruminant feed with MBM then legitimately being used in feed for pigs and poultry did in practice occur.