§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what reasons underlay the decision to require the removal of spinal cord from sheep at slaughter. [131813]
§ Ms Stuart[holding answer 21 July 2000]I am advised by the Food Standards Agency that specified risk material (SRM) controls on sheep were introduced, on the basis of advice from the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC), after it had been demonstrated that sheep could be infected experimentally with BSE, and because it was considered possible that sheep had been exposed to BSE infectivity through feed. SEAC advised that the spinal cord of older sheep could pose a potential risk to human health if eaten, and recommended an extension of the SRM controls to include this tissue once it had been established that there were practical methods for removing it from the carcase. The controls are precautionary, as at present there is no evidence that BSE is present in commercial sheep.