§ Mrs. BallardTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food who instructed renderers to stop treating offal with ether; and when the instruction was issued. [25035]
§ Mr. RookerThe rendering industry was not to our knowledge instructed to stop treating offal with ether and other hydrocarbon solvents. The decision was primarily a commercial one.
§ Mrs. BallardTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research he has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the effect on the BSE prion of treating offal with ether. [25034]
§ Mr. RookerMAFF has funded research into the capacity of the following hydrocarbon solvents to inactivate BSE: hexane, heptane, petroleum ether and perchlorethylene. These were the chemicals used historically in the rendering industry for the extraction of tallow. The experiment is due to be completed in March 1998 and cannot be evaluated until the final results are received.