§ Gillian MerronTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Wirral, South (Mr. Chapman) on 5 February 2002,Official Report, column 905W, whether she can update the House on the measures her Department has taken to trace the offspring of BSE cases. [37486]
§ Mr. MorleyAs a result of further checks, it has now become clear that two more offspring of BSE cases have been sold for human consumption, one in December and one in January. Some meat from the latter has been prevented from going into the food chain. These cases are being investigated. Measures are being taken to tighten up procedure and we are considering taking legal action.
Passports thought to have been held by officials outside animal health divisional offices were in fact returned to owners, enabling the animals to be sold despite the fact restriction notices were properly served on the owners, informing them the animals were not to be sold for human consumption. Consumer protection is provided by the over-30-month rule, the removal of specified risk material and the ban on the feeding of mammalian meat and bone meal to all farm livestock. These measures were applied in these cases.