WRITTEN QUESTION E-2331/02

by Dorette Corbey (PSE) to the Commission

(26 July 2002)

Subject: BSE risk from frozen chicken fillets injected with beef

On 8 July 2002, the Guardian newspaper reported that vast quantities of frozen chicken imported into the United Kingdom from the Netherlands had been injected with beef and pork proteins and that this might present a risk of BSE. The proteins were not declared on the label attached to the packets of frozen chicken. Commissioner Byrne thereupon roundly criticised the Netherlands Government for mislabelling (i.e. misleading the consumer by failing to provide accurate information) and said that additional measures would be taken if he received any further evidence of fraud. The report in the Guardian about the potential BSE risk really did, as it should, put the cat amongst the pigeons.

1. Can the Commission confirm that EU legislation authorises the injection of chicken fillets with beef and pork proteins?

2. Does the Commission take the view that the practice of injecting chicken fillets with beef protein entails a potential BSE risk and therefore constitutes a threat to public health?

3. Does the Commission take the view that the practice of injecting chicken fillets with beef protein should be continued?

4. (Further to Question 2). How did the Commission notify the public of its view?

5. What spin does the Commission give to its external communication? Does it emphasise the breach of Community law or the possible existence of a food safety risk?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(15 October 2002)

The Commission was notified on 21 May 2002 by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and through the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, that preparations of chicken fillets, which were manufactured in the Netherlands and put on the market in Ireland, did not conform to Community requirements laid down in Directive 2000/13/EC(1).

When the information was released by the press, the issue of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) risk linked to the origin of the bovine proteins was raised. In fact, two questions need to be considered separately: the labelling of the products in relation to the information provided to the consumers and the risk for public health.

1. The Commission considers that the labelling of these products is clearly an infringement of the Community legislation on the labelling of foodstuffs.

The products have been processed by the addition to chicken fillets of proteins, water and other ingredients. Therefore they can no longer be designated as chicken fillets, as this designation is restricted to fresh poultry meat. In addition, added proteins, added water, other added ingredients and the meat content must be labelled.

The addition of proteins (including bovine and porcine proteins) to fresh poultry meat with a view to obtain a meat preparation, is not forbidden by the Community legislation, provided that:

- there are no legal requirements, which specifically excludes their use for this category of products;

- the added proteins are fit for human consumption; and

- the proteins are labelled according to the labelling provisions for ingredients.

The Commission considers that this chicken fillets issue is primarily a fraud due to the infringement of the food labelling legislation. Therefore, the matter is not the revision of the existing Community legislation, but its implementation and control. The Dutch authorities have committed to take the necessary means to ensure the above conditions are fulfilled and to report periodically to the Commission and other Member States about the results of these measures.

2. The Commission has also requested information about the origin of bovine proteins in relation to the BSE risk.

Pursuant to existing legislation, potentially BSE infected tissues are removed from bovine animals as specified risk material and destroyed. Protein from other parts of bovine animals that have been found fit for human consumption is considered to be safe. According to information from the Dutch Authorities the bovine protein was produced in approved companies in Germany and Spain. The Spanish and German authorities have been asked to check the source of bovine material used in these companies. Based on the information received so far, there does not seem to be reasons to suspect that any potentially BSE infected material would have been injected into the chicken fillets. The Commission will continue to follow the current investigations regarding the origin and safety of the added bovine proteins.

3. Commission communication to the public.

The Commission spokesperson replied to questions of journalists on this chicken fillets' issue. She pointed out that it was indeed legal to use bovine proteins sourced safely as explained above but that their presence would need to be labelled. Though any public health risk appeared to be very low, the origin of these proteins needed to be checked by further investigations in association with the Dutch authorities. No further press release was prepared.

In general, the Commission communicates directly to the public when there is a serious risk to public health and communication at European level would be more efficient than at national level. As regards the chicken fillets issue, the Commission informed the national authorities and requested them to put in place necessary measures to guarantee consumer protection.

(1) Directive 2000/13/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs, OJ L 109, 6.5.2000.