Beef (Hansard, 15 December 1997)

§ Mr. Laurence Robertson
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the quality of the meat imported into the United Kingdom from(a) the Republic of Ireland, (b) the Netherlands, (c) France, (d) Botswana, (e) Namibia and (f) Australia; how the regulations applying to meat from these countries differ from those applying to British beef; and if he will make a statement. [20394]

§ Mr. Rooker
All fresh meat produced in the UK and imported into the UK from other EU Member States must be produced in accordance with harmonised Community rules laid down in Council Directive 64/433/EEC. Fresh meat imported from third countries must come only from approved establishments in countries which are authorised by the European Commission to export to the Community, which include Botswana, Namibia and Australia. These controls are designed to ensure that the meat satisfies health requirements equivalent to those applying within the Community.

§ Mr. Laurence Robertson
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what assessment he has made of the risk of BSE being contained in meat imported into the United Kingdom from(a) the Republic of Ireland, (b) the Netherlands, (c) France, (d) Botswana, (e) Namibia and (f) Australia; and if he will make a statement; [20396]
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(2) what assessment he has made of the risk of contracting CJD from BSE contained in meat produced in (a) the Republic of Ireland, (b) the Netherlands, (c) France, (d) Botswana, (e) Namibia, (f) Australia and (g) the United Kingdom. [20395]

§ Mr. Rooker
BSE has never been detected in meat (muscle) even in clinically affected cattle.
It is not therefore possible to assess accurately the risk of contracting CJD from meat from any source.
SEAC have advised that the most likely source of nvCJD is exposure to BSE before 1989, when the measures to exclude BSE infected tissues from the human food chain were put in place. However, there is, as yet, no conclusive evidence of the route of infection or the infective dose. Nor is it possible to determine whether a single challenge can cause the disease or whether exposure over a period would be necessary to establish the disease.
Given that the incidence of BSE is higher in the UK than elsewhere, it is to be expected that the risk of exposure from offals has historically been greater than in other countries.
BSE has not been reported in Botswana, Namibia and Australia. We therefore consider that the risk of beef imported from those countries carrying BSE infectivity is very small indeed.
BSE has been reported in the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands and France, but these countries, like the UK, have measures in place which exclude the most ineffective tissues (specified risk material) from the human food chain.

§ Mr. Laurence Robertson
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the impact on British farmers of(a) the export ban on British beef and (b) the ban on the sale of meat on the bone. [20397]

§ Mr. Rooker
It is impossible to establish the direct impact on farmers of the export ban in isolation. The maintenance of the ban is only one of the factors currently contributing to the weakness of the domestic market. However, its impact will in part have been offset by the removal from the market of over 30 months cattle, calves under 20 days of age and beef bought into intervention.
Since only 5 per cent. of beef is currently sold on the bone, the effect on producer returns on the ban on the sale of bone-in beef should be negligible.

§ Mr. Swinney
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the risk to consumers of CJD infection from eating(a) 1kg of beef on the bone products and (b) 1kg of beef on the bone sourced from a Scottish beef herd. [20503]

§ Mr. Rooker
Much would depend on the product and which particular bone. If the hon. Member is referring to vertebral column and the risk from dorsal root ganglion, the risk is likely to be greater for products in which the dorsal root ganglion could remain in the food. That would be the case for bone-in beef or for products such as mechanically recovered meat. The use of vertebral column to produce mechanically recovered meat was prohibited in 1995. Another factor which needs to be taken into account is the particular product concerned.
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Some products, such as gelatin, involve processes which are known to reduce the level of BSE infectivity and would therefore present a lower risk than other products.

§ Mr. Swinney
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the representations he has received since he announced the ban on the sale of beef on the bone products; and how many of these representations were in favour of(a) the issuing of a warning on the possible risk from beef on the bone products and (b) a ban on sales of such products. [20504]

§ Mr. Rooker
All replies received by 4pm on Friday 12 December, in response to the consultation exercise carried out with industry, consumers and interested parties on the bone-in beef proposals, have been carefully considered and assessed. The results of the consultation exercise have been reflected in the legislation which my right hon. Friend is intending to lay before the House today. As is our usual practice, copies of the responses will be deposited in the Library of the House.