Agency wants tougher BSE controls

6 February 2001



Agency wants tougher BSE controls

By FWi staff

TOUGHER BSE controls are required to prevent blood, gelatin and tallow being added to cattle feed, warn Governments food safety experts.

The Food Standards Agency has called for a ban on these products, saying they could lead to outbreaks of BSE, reports the Daily Express.

It is not known for certain if these substances are being used in cattle feed.

Government BSE advisors the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee ruled that these extracts do not pose a health threat if eaten by cattle.

In another announcement, the FSA has said labelling food which contains tiny traces of genetically modified material would lead to higher prices for consumers.

Environmental protesters said it was outrageous to expect consumers to shoulder the cost.

Meanwhile, EU farm commissioner Franz Fischler has said the BSE crisis on the Continent has strengthened demands for food safety to be incorporated into a future World Trade Organisation accord.

He made these comments as Brussels presented its farm trade liberalisation proposals to negotiators in Geneva, reports the Financial Times.

• Food agency tightens BSE rules, FWi, 31 October, 2000
• BSE fears over blood in feed, FWi, 25 September, 2000
  
• Daily Express 06 February, 2001 page 33
  
• Financial Times 06 February, 2001 page 14