§ Mr. Keith SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment of the risk to animal health has been made by her Department with regard to bovine DNA contained in imported frozen chicken breasts; 168842]
(2) whether she informed the inquiry into the lessons to be learned from the foot and mouth disease outbreak of 2001 of her Department's risk assessment with regard to bovine DNA contained in imported frozen chicken breasts; [68837]
(3) what evidence her Department presented to the National Audit Office report on the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease concerning the risk assessment with regard to bovine DNA contained in imported frozen chicken breasts; [68839]
(4) when she informed the Scientific Review into foot and mouth by the Royal Society of her Department's risk assessment with regard to bovine DNA contained in imported frozen chicken breasts. [68841]
§ Mr. MorleySince 1 August 2001, it has been illegal to feed any processed animal proteins—including avian proteins—to animals which are kept, fattened or bred for the production of food. These legislative requirements, designed to avoid any possibility of the BSE agent getting into feedingstuffs for farmed livestock, are backed up by robust surveillance arrangements to monitor compliance. The specially developed tests which are used to help enforce the feed controls include one specifically aimed at detection of avian proteins. Given the robust controls in place, no added value would be achieved from a separate risk assessment on the animal health implications of bovine DNA contained in imported frozen chicken breasts. Consequently, no risk assessment has been produced or sent to either the inquiry into the lessons to be learned from the foot and mouth disease outbreak of 2001, or the National Audit Office Value for Money Examination into the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease, or the Royal Society Study into Infectious Diseases in Livestock.