§ Mr. Paul BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the risk of prions being transferred to meat for consumption(a) through blood and (b) by cutting equipment in abattoirs.[Transferred] [86071]
§ Ms BlearsThe Food Standards Agency advises me that the risk of prions being transferred to meat for consumption is currently estimated to be low. Specified risk material (SRM) controls cover those parts of animals considered most likely to harbour any transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) infectivity. The TSE regulations require that SRM neither enters the food chain nor comes into contact with any other animal material while in the slaughterhouse.
Ongoing research underway includes investigation of different parts of a bovine animal beyond the currently defined SRM, and their response to an experimental challenge of BSE infected feed. This has not indicated to date that muscle tissue would itself become infected.
The Agency is, in addition, undertaking research to evaluate the risk of prions being inadvertently transferred to meat at abattoirs, and possible ways through which risk can be reduced. This work in progress includes the examination of alternative cutting techniques for removal of spinal column. Results will be published once the work has been completed.