WRITTEN QUESTION E-0350/01

by Raffaele Lombardo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 February 2001)

Subject: Urgent measures to combat BSE

Given the serious nature of the threat to human health at European level posed by BSE and related diseases and in the light of the frightening Community document of October 1990

containing instructions designed to play down the dangers and scale of the disease solely for economic and commercial reasons and the fact that the institutions have a duty to comply with the provisions on public health and consumer protection laid down in Articles 152 and 153 respectively, will the Commission say:

- what measures it considers must be taken as a matter of urgency to determine the political responsibility of those who mounted an unacceptable campaign of disinformation and a conspiracy of silence and how they should be disciplined?

- whether it intends to introduce compulsory checks in the Member States not only on cattle older than 30 months, but on all animals intended for human consumption regardless of their age or geographical origin, together with appropriate measures to extend tests to all countries in the world;

- whether it considers it necessary to commission specialised research institutions to carry out investigations into the danger of using animal meal in the fish-farming sector too, to draw up strict rules for controls on feedingstuffs and the chemical agents used to clean fish tanks, and to adopt the precautionary principle in case of the slightest doubt;

- whether it intends to confirm and extend the determination expressed in its proposal for a directive submitted on 24 May 2000 concerning the prohibition on the use in stockfarming of certain substances having a hormonal action?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(17 May 2001)

As regards the internal note of 12 October 1990 concerning bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the Commission would refer the Honourable Member of Parliament to the replies already provided on this subject, to Written Question P-1975/96 from Mr Goldsmith(1), E-1819/97 from Mr Cabezón Alonso(2) and E-3767/97 from Mrs Muscardini and others(3).

The policy to focus the testing on animals over 30 months of age is based on the average incubation period for BSE, which is 4-5 years, and the sensitivity of the tests. Only 0,05 % of all the cases of BSE have been detected in animals less than 31 months of age. The vast majority of these cases also occurred in the United Kingdom at the height of its BSE epidemic when bovines were exposed to very high levels of contaminated feedingstuffs. The tests presently available will detect BSE in the clinical phase of the disease, or close to the clinical phase, but not early in the incubation period. Research is continuing on more sensitive tests with the potential to detect the disease at an earlier stage of incubation.

Currently all bovine animals over 30 months of age slaughtered for human consumption in the Community must be tested, with a possibility for Austria, Finland and Sweden to derogate from this requirement for animals slaughtered for their national market only. This derogation was granted based on the lower risk of BSE in those Member States, as assessed by the Scientific Steering Committee.

A harmonisation of BSE related import conditions should take place in the framework of the proposed Regulation of the Parliament and of the Council laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE)(4), which is currently in the process of adoption. Those import conditions will be based on a scientific assessment of the BSE risk in the Member State concerned and on an examination of the most appropriate measures to manage that risk, including testing. The recommendations of the international standard in this area will also need to be taken into account. Currently, the international standard does not recommend BSE testing at slaughter as a trade condition.

So far, the occurrence of TSEs has not been reported for fish. A research project addressing the issue of TSE in farmed salmon is ongoing in the context of the FAIR programme, funded by the Community. Since 1 January 2001 the feeding of animal meal to farmed animals, including farmed fish is prohibited. By way of derogation fishmeal can be fed to farmed fish under strict control and production conditions established by Community legislation. In particular, fishmeal must be produced using exclusively fish caught in the open sea or fresh by-products from fish from plants manufacturing fish products for human consumption. These conditions are in line with the most recent scientific advice on this matter.

Directive 98/8/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 provides for a framework of rules relating to the placing on the market for use of biocidal products(5), taking as a condition a high level of protection for humans, animals and the environment.

All hormones having an oestrogenic, androgenic or gestagenic action, which could be used for growth promotion, are covered by the proposal for a Parliament and Council Directive(6) amending Council Directive 96/22/EC of 29 April 1996 concerning the prohibition on the use in stockfarming of certain substances having a hormonal or thyrostatic action and beta-agonists(7). This proposal bans their use for growth promotion. The Commission is awaiting the adoption by the Parliament and the Council of this proposal.

(1) OJ C 11, 13.1.1997.

(2) OJ C 21, 22.1.1998.

(3) OJ C 174, 8.6.1998.

(4) OJ C 258, 10.9.1999.

(5) OJ L 123, 24.4.1998.

(6) OJ C 337 E, 28.11.2000.

(7) OJ L 125, 23.5.1996.