BSE fears over move to relax farm feed rules

UK - Animal remains could once more be added to farm feed, raising fears of another BSE outbreak, following tests by European scientists.
calendar icon 1 June 2007
clock icon 1 minute read

The European Union is spending £1 million on research that would allow the ban on using animal proteins in farm feed to be relaxed, it was claimed last night.

The practice of using the remains of pigs and chickens as fodder was banned by the EU in 2000 after BSE, commonly known as mad cow disease, was blamed for infecting hundreds of people with an incurable brain disease.

BSE, which also led to millions of cattle being culled and devastated Britain's beef industry in the biggest food scare the country had ever seen, was thought to have been spread through feed which included the remains of diseased cows.

The European Economic and Social Committee decided at a recent meeting that pig meal should be allowed for chickens and that chicken remains should be fed to pigs, once new tests are established which would identify the different kinds of meat contained in feed.

The committee concluded: "The EESC suggests that the European Commission pursue and step up as swiftly as possible the studies currently under way which clearly show that the use of meat meal from non-ruminants can be used in pig and poultry feed without posing any danger to human health.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

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