Commission agrees to new proposals to quell BSE panic
Against the background of rising concern about a spread of BSE in Europe, two high level meetings have taken place, with the aim of controlling consumer panic. The European Commission agreed on 29 November to several new proposals, as put forward by Franz Fischler, Commissioner for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development and David Byrne, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection. In a separate meeting, the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) adopted an opinion negating the need for import bans on beef. The Commission's proposals, which will be put to the Agriculture Council at a specially convened meeting on 4 December include the following: - A temporary ban on the feeding of meat and bone meal (MBM) to all farm animals; - A requirement that all animals over 30 months are tested for BSE to enhance consumer confidence; - A requirement that the current list of specified risk materials (SRMs), which must be removed and destroyed, should now also include the entire intestine of bovines of all ages; - A 'purchase for destruction' scheme to remove from the food chain all cattle aged over 30 months unless they have been tested for BSE to ensure additional guarantees and to rebalance the beef market; - A flexible handling of public intervention to address the current drop in producer prices; - The raising of advances paid for the beef premia from the current 60 per cent to 80 per cent, in order to remove the financial pressure from beef producers. The European Commission also formally adopted a proposal to require the testing of all 'at risk' animals from 1 January 2001. This requirement will be extended to all animals aged over 30 months from 1 July 2001. Referring to the recent discoveries of the first cases of BSE in Germany and Spain, doubts over the Member States' implementation of Community safety laws on BSE and the collapse in consumer confidence, both Commissioners affirmed that the exceptional chain of events calls for an exceptional response. Referring to the proposed ban on meat and bone meal, David Byrne added: 'I have repeatedly said that the existing Community controls, if strictly implemented, ensure that MBM is safe. The Scientific Steering Committee yesterday once more confirmed this view. However, consumers now clearly want copper-fastened guarantees that these controls are being implemented. The Commission proposes, therefore, to ban MBM until it is satisfied that Member States can proved such guarantees.' Franz Fischler continued:' BSE is an EU-wide problem which requires EU-wide answers. Firm action is required and today the Commission has delivered. We have to restore consumer confidence. And we have to stabilise the beef market. The Commission has today proposed a set of measures to achieve this. In order to minimise the potentially explosive cost of full-scale public intervention, we have proposed a 'purchase for destruction-scheme'. European farmers and consumers are in the same boat. Now it is up to the Member States to take the necessary decisions.' Despite the step up in measures aimed at containing BSE, the SSC did not find it necessary to support the implementation of national measures to control BSE, as proposed by Italy, Spain, Austria and France. The rise in BSE detection incidences had been predicted by the SSC on account of increased tests. The Committee rejected scientific justifications for unilateral action, and stated in its opinion that effective implementation of the ban on meat-on-bone meal cattle feed, of sound rendering practices and removal of specified risk materials in importing and exporting countries would probably exclude the need for trade restrictions. Until this is achieved, some temporary trade restrictions might however be justified. They should be based on assessments of the implementation of BSE risk management measures and of BSE risk in the Member States concerned. The SSC recommends a temporary band on feeding MBM to all farmed animals and pets where a significant risk of cross-contamination of cattle feed with MBM possible contaminated with the BSE agent is found.