§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he had plans to extend the ban on bovine offals for human consumption to include tripe;
(2) whether he has any evidence that tripe carries the infective agent responsible for bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonThe potential for tripe to carry the BSE agent is currently being studied. A decision on whether to ban its use for human consumption will be taken when the results of this study and the views of interested parties are known and have been evaluated.