SRMban delay

3 April 1998

SRMban delay

EU FARM ministers voted unanimously this week to delay legislation banning specified risk materials (SRMs) from the human food chain until Jan 1, 1999 – 12 months after it was due to start.

Farm commissioner, Franz Fischler, said he would present fresh proposals which he hoped would get more support. Recent attempts to make the rules more palatable, by removing pharmaceuticals from the list of products covered and offering regional exemptions, had failed to win ministerial approval. "I am mystified what more they actually want," he said.