HC Deb 24 July 1996 vol 282 cc626-9W
Mr. Colvin

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the state veterinary service's surveillance of the handling of specified offals in April, May and June; and if he will make a statement. [40079]

Mrs. Browning

The controls on specified bovine material, previously termed specified bovine offals, are central to the protection of public health from any risk from BSE. Full compliance with them is of paramount importance in combating the disease. They require the removal of all those tissues known potentially to harbour BSE infectivity from all cattle at slaughter.

The state veterinary service carries out regular unannounced visits to all plants handling SBMs to monitor their compliance with the controls. Results of its surveillance visits in April, May and June are as follows:

being fully complied with and properly enforced. This is in addition to the surveillance visits carried out by the SVS. To implement the enhanced supervision of SBM, over 300 meat inspection staff have been recruited by the MHS. This intense effort by the MHS to perfect the application of the existing SBM controls is reflected in these SVS surveillance results.

Slaughterhouses face prosecution for significant breaches of the SBM controls, when sufficient evidence is available. At present, two plants have been successfully prosecuted and several more are under investigation with a view to prosecution.

The SVS will continue regular unannounced visits to all plants handling SBMs. The MHS will continue to enforce rules most vigorously, and press for prosecutions where there is sufficient evidence to support a case.

In future information on this subject will be available in the BSE enforcement bulletin which is to be published at the end of each month. Copies of the bulletin will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Mr. Alan W. Williams

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his Department's estimate of the number of cattle with pre-clinical symptoms of BSE that have been slaughtered and entered the food chain. [32172]

Mrs. Browning

For the purpose of these calculations we have assumed that the risk of exposure of cattle to contaminated feed has not reduced beyond the level experienced in 1990. This is because the number of cases in cattle born in later years is still too small to make more accurate calculations. On the basis of recent modelling studies over 600,000 infected cattle which had not developed clinical symptoms may have been slaughtered for human consumption. The vast majority of these animals would have been born in 1988. It is precisely because we recognised that some pre-clinical cases would enter the human food chain that the SBO, now SBM, controls were introduced in 1989.

Mr. Heppell

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the European Commission was notified of Her Majesty's Government's decision to designate the thymus and intestine of calves under six months old as specified bovine offal; and what form that notification took. [35749]

Mrs. Browning

The amendment to the Bovine Offal (Prohibition) Regulations, which extended the specified bovine offal ban to include thymus and intestines from calves under six months of age, was notified to the Commission on 26 July 1994. The notification was made under the emergency provisions of EC directive 83/189, as amended, laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations.

Mr. Heppell

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action was taken to inform(a) other EU member states and (b) the European Commission of the United Kingdom's decisions and regulations put in place relating to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, with particular reference to public and animal health during (a) 1994, and (b) 1995. [35748]

Mrs. Browning

All Great Britain legislation relating to BSE which was put in place during 1994 and 1995 was notified to the Commission in accordance with EC directive 83/189, as amended, laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations.

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the highest numbers of BSE cases at an individual farm in Lancashire and North Yorkshire since the epidemic began; and what percentage this represents of the cattle on the farm over that period. [37391]

Mrs. Browning

As at 18 July the highest number of cases on an individual farm, excluding dealers, is 44 for Lancashire and 93 for North Yorkshire. All the 44 cases were homebred; of the 93 cases, only 11 were homebred. Since the epidemic began, this represents 15.7 per cent. of the herd on the Lancashire farm and 22.1 per cent. of the herd on the North Yorkshire farm.

Mr. Martyn Jones

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what guidelines his Department has produced governing the method of removal of the brains of cattle to prevent the spread of BSE into the human food chain; on what date these guidelines were published; what was the interval between publication and the inclusion of brain material as banned specified offal; and if he will make a statement. [37427]

Mrs. Browning

On 13 November 1989 the Bovine Offal Prohibition Regulations came into force which banned the brain and certain other offals for human consumption. Guidance was issued to local authorities on 14 June 1990 which advised MAFF considered that bovine head meat must be recovered from the intact skull before the brain was removed. The Agricultural Select Committee considered the issue of head splitting further and recommended that the harvesting of head meat before the removal of brain should be set down in legislation. The Bovine Offal (Prohibition) (Amendment) Regulations 1992 came into force on 12 March 1992 which prohibited the removal of the brain from the head of a bovine animal in a head boning plant except in an area which was free at all times from food intended for human consumption.

Mr. Jones

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list each occasion in the last two months in which his Department has consulted farmers directly about policy development concerning BSE and the beef crisis; and if he will make a statement. [37365]

Mrs. Browning

During May and June 1996 farming organisations were consulted on the following issues:

issues
3 May 1996 Proposal for a mature beef assurance scheme
6 June 1996 Proposal for introduction of cattle passports
7 June 1996 Specified bovine materials (SBM) controls in abattoirs
10 June 1996 Feed recall scheme
12 June 1996 The Fresh Meat (Beef Controls) Regulations 1996
26 June 1996 SBM Controls—treatment of particulate matter derived from SBM

In addition, the Government have written to farmers on a number of occasions to update them on current measures and the Government/industry working group on animal traceability has met regularly during May and June.

Mr. Campbell-Savours

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate of the number of cattle that contracted BSE as a result of the failure of Tenderers to comply in the production, distribution and supply of rendered material with BSE-related control regulations since 1989. [31252]

Mrs. Browning

[holding answer 4 June 1996]: No such estimates are available. However, up to 1 July 1996 there have been 27,963 confirmed cases of BSE in animals born after the ruminant protein feed ban, which was introduced in July 1988.

Epidemiological investigations carried out following the occurrence of BSE in animals born after the feed ban suggested that exposure was likely to be from a feed-borne source due to cross-contamination of feeding stuffs containing meat and bone meal at the feed mill, in transit or on farm.

Mr. Hinchliffe

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what procedures have been introduced to destroy bovine spongiform encephalopathy infectivity during gelatine purification, what are the arrangements for ensuring these are implemented; and if he will make a statement. [33893]

Mrs. Browning

[holding answer 25 June 1996]: No new procedures have been introduced in the gelatine manufacturing process as the specified bovine materials controls in abattoirs ensure that none of the raw material from which gelatine is produced contains tissues; with detectable levels of BSE infectivity. Beyond this it is known that the standard manufacturing methods of gelatine will reduce the infectivity of artificially spiked samples which have BSE material added to them in experiments.

Mr. Morley

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when and in what document, notification was given to(a) the European Commission and (b) standards institutions as listed in list 2 of EU directive 83/1895, EEC, following the United Kingdom Government's decision of 2 November 1994 to prohibit the consumption of the thymus and intestines of calves under six months old. [35470]

Mrs. Browning

[holding answer 4 July 1996]: The European Commission was notified on 26 July 1994. The notification was made under the emergency provisions of EC directive 83/189, as amended, laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations. There was no requirement to send details of this notification to the standards institutions because it was not a standardisation measure.

Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 11 JulyOfficial Report, column 307, how many prosecutions or formal warnings have been issued to persons other than farmers in respect of breaches of specified bovine offal or animal feed regulations. [38197]

Mrs. Browning

[holding answer 19 July 1996]: Since 1 April 1995 when the national Meat Hygiene Service took over responsibility for enforcement of controls on specified bovine materials—SBM—in slaughterhouses, we are aware of two successful prosecutions for breaches of these rules. A number of further cases are being investigated with a view to prosecution if sufficient evidence is available. In addition, slaughterhouse operators are informed of any minor breaches of the SBM regulations by MHS officials or state veterinary service officials on an informal and on-going basis to allow them to review and improve their practice. No information on prosecutions for breaches of the specified bovine offal controls prior to 1 April 1995 are available centrally as the enforcement of these regulations then fell to local authorities.

Several instances where mammalian protein has been detected in ruminant feed in feed mills are under investigation with a view to prosecution if sufficient evidence is available.