HC Deb 07 April 1998 vol 310 cc212-3W
Mr. Matthew Taylor

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the latest figures for (a) the number of cattle slaughtered under the over 30-months-scheme, (b) the amount of brown granular dust produced by the rendering of those cattle, (c) the number of carcases incinerated without rendering and (d) the amount of meat and bone meal awaiting incineration at the latest available date. [37571]

Mr. Rooker

Up to 29 March 1998, just under 2.2 million animals had been slaughtered under the Over-Thirty-Month Scheme (OTMS), of which some 128,000 were directly incinerated. The majority of cattle presented for the scheme are being rendered to produce two products, meat and bone meal (MBM) and tallow, which are being safely and securely stored pending destruction. To date, some 325,000 tonnes of MBM has been produced as a consequence of the rendering of OTMS animals, of which some 314,000 tonnes is currently in store, the remainder having been incinerated.