FSA calls for BSE controls for sheep
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is calling for a BSE screening system for sheep "as a matter of great urgency", it was announced yesterday.
The call comes after the findings of the Government's BSE inquiry were released last week revealing that 80 people in the UK have died from variant CJD and there could be hundreds, even thousands, more cases to come.
The FSA will consider the latest draft report on BSE controls at an open public meeting tomorrow (Thursday). The report recommends new controls on the possible use of animal blood in animal feed, and recommends a complete ban on intra-species recycling, or cannibalism.
"The evidence is that current UK controls, which are based on the precautionary approach, are working," said FSA chairman Sir John Krebs. "But, because of so much uncertainty, the review suggests that current controls be retained and in some areas tightened."
This includes finding a rapid screening method for sheep and goats to determine whether or not BSE occurs - no cases have been found so far. The FSA report says that if BSE was discovered in sheep the current controls would be "inadequate".
The report also recommends further testing of pigs and poultry to clarify earlier findings that those species are not affected.
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