§ Mr. WatsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the US Department of Agriculture decision to use antibody-based tests for the prion protein that causes BSE; and if she will make a statement. [165253]
§ Mr. BradshawThe testing approvals in the USA are currently consistent with those in the EU where all currently approved and potential new surveillance tests are antibody based. It is understandable that the USDA might want to use similar testing to the EU in order to assess BSE prevalence in their cattle population. No specific evaluation of the US approval process is considered necessary.
§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the BSE tests she has been conducting at High Mowbray in Yorkshire. [166441]
§ Mr Bradshaw[holding answer 19 April 2004]: I assume that the h on. Member is referring to BSE research that was conducted between 1989 and 2001 at High Mowthorpe Centre in North Yorkshire as no BSE tests or research have been conducted at High Mowbray. Embryos were derived elsewhere from BSE-infected cattle and transported to High Mowthorpe, where they were transferred to recipient BSE-free dams from New Zealand. A total of 266 live born calves were produced from 347 recipient females and all 613 animals were monitored for seven years. None developed BSE and no sign of BSE, was observed when brains were subjected to post-mortem examination. These findings led to the lifting of the import/export ban on cattle embryos in 2002.