HL Deb 12 January 1998 vol 584 cc183-4WA
The Earl of Haddington

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Donoughue on 21 July (WA 148) why they did not immediately implement a ban on the importation of all fresh meat and meat products that failed to come up to the required British standards on or before that date.

Lord Donoughue

On 30 July the Commission adopted Decision 97/534/EC introducing Community-wide controls on the use and disposal of Specified Risk Material (SRM) with effect from 1 January 1998. This Decision addressed the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) recommendations to government by introducing Community-wide controls. When it became clear, in December, that the implementation of the Decision would need to be deferred because of its effect on the availability of certain medical and pharmaceutical products, the Government decided to introduce national measures requiring certain imported animal products for food and feed to be accompanied by official certification confirming that they do not contain and were not derived from SRM. These measures came into force on 1 January 1998.