WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1170/96 by Anne McINTOSH to the Commission. Support of the European beef market
Date: 1996-05-03
Institutions: European Parliament, MCINTOSH
Subjects: United Kingdom, World Health Organisation, animal disease, beef, consumer protection, exchange of information, export restriction, market support, self-employed person, single market













EUR-Lex - 91996E1170 - EN






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91996E1170

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1170/96 by Anne McINTOSH to the Commission. Support of the European beef market  


Official Journal C 385 , 19/12/1996 P. 0009 





WRITTEN QUESTION P-1170/96 by Anne McIntosh (PPE) to the Commission (3 May 1996)Subject: Support of the European beef marketBearing in mind the weight of evidence concerning the link between BSE and CJD and bearing in mind that the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that there is only the remotest possibility that the two may be linked, will the Commission concede that the ban on the export of British beef for over two months amounts to measures that were out of proportion to the risk?The Commission followed the World Health Organization's recommendations on levels of nitrates in water, why will it not do so in the case of BSE/CJD? WHO has advised that the risk to humans of catching CJD from BSE in cattle is very remote. Does the Commission not accept this?Does the Commission agree that all exports of beef from the EU to third countries have been affected, not just those from Britain?What action is the Commission taking to prevent and control the outbreak of CJD in those countries where there are no BSE-infected cattle?Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (3 June 1996)The expert consultation held by the World health organization (WHO) on 2 - 3 April 1996 on public health issues related to human and animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies concluded that a link has not yet been proven between V-CJD (the new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease) in the United Kingdom and the effect of exposure to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent, that the most likely hypothesis for V-CJD is the exposure of the United Kingdom population to BSE and that further data are urgently required from scientific studies on these variant cases.It is not, therefore, correct that WHO has stated that there is only the remotest possibility that the two may be linked. The Commission Decision ((Commission Decision 96/239/EC, of 27 March 1996, on emergency measures to protect against bovine spongiform encephalopathy. OJ L 78, 28.3.1996. )) to ban exports of cattle, beef and certain bovine products from the United Kingdom, pending an overall examination of the situation, was a fully justified response to the prevailing uncertainty. This was confirmed by the WHO conclusions that more information was needed to clarify the situation.The Commission is aware of the effect of consumer concerns about BSE and CJD, in the Community and elsewhere, on the whole of the Community beef market. It considers that the best way to allay those concerns is to take all possible measures to ensure the highest level of consumer protection. The Community measures taken and planned are fully in line with the recommendations of WHO.The Commission is not aware of an 'outbreak of CJD'. According to the latest figures available from Member States and from WHO, CJD continues to occur worldwide with an incidence of around 1 case per millionper year, regardless of the occurrence of BSE, other spongiform encephalopathies of animals or particular dietary habits. This incidence is unchanged since CJD was first recognised over 60 years ago.