WRITTEN QUESTION E-0092/01 by Rosa Miguélez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission. BSE: measures to be adopted by the Member States.
Date: 2001-01-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: application of EU law, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, carcase, cereal substitute, disease prevention, veterinary legislation, waste disposal

3.7.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 187 E/179

The statements made by those responsible for these acts of dumping give reason to believe that they have
acted in accordance with the Community rules.

In view of the above, can the Commission state whether any rules exist at European level on the treatment
to be administered to feedingstuffs containing animal residues with a view to their elimination? Can the
Commission state whether the same rules indicate how such feedingstuffs are to be eliminated, and, if so,
provide details?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(14 March 2001)

According to Council Directive 90/667/EEC, of 27 November 1990 laying down the veterinary rules for
the disposal and processing of animal waste, for its placing on the market and for the prevention of
pathogens in feedstuffs of animal or fish origin and amending Directive 90/425/EEC (1) animal carcasses
must be processed in an approved plant under official veterinary surveillance. In exceptional circum-
stances, they may be disposed of by burning or burial.

From 1 April 1997, Council Decision 1999/534/EC, of 19 July 1999 on measures applying to the
processing of certain animal waste to protect against transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and
amending Commission Decision 97/735/EC (2) requires that all mammalian animal waste must be
processed in accordance with certain minimum parameters which are regarded as being the most effective
standards for the inactivation of the agents of scrapie and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

Member States may authorise the processing of this animal waste by a method which does not meet these
standards if the resulting processed material is destroyed by burial, incineration, burning as fuel or a similar
method which ensures safe disposal.

The additional requirements established by Community legislation on disposal of animal material present-
ing a BSE risk have been provided to the Honourable Member in replying to her Written Question
P-0052/01 (3).

(1) OJ L 363, 27.12.1990, p. 51. Directive as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden.
(2) OJ L 204, 4.8.1999.
(3) OJ C 174 E, 19.6.2001, p. 247.

(2001/C 187 E/192)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0092/01

by Rosa MiguØlez Ramos (PSE) to the Commission

Subject: BSE: measures to be adopted by the Member States

(29 January 2001)

On 4 December 2000 the EU Council of Ministers adopted a set of decisions related to BSE, including
screening tests for cattle aged over 30 months and a temporary ban on animal meal in the fifteen Member
States.

All the Member States have started the procedures for implementing these decisions, but as things stand
there are major variations in the extent to which they have implemented them and the resources made
available for that purpose. In France, the government is adopting measures which would not actually have
been considered mandatory until 1 July 2001, including the equipment of 26 reference laboratories (to
join the 13 that already exist) and the operation of tests at a rate of 100 000 per week. The contrast
between this situation and that in other Member States, such as Italy, which has already admitted that it
lacks the capacity to handle the problem, and Spain, which has only one reference laboratory and cannot
match test capacity to demand, is creating a state of confusion, both among European consumers and in
the industry itself, in the face of the variations in the action taken by different national (cid:129) and even
regional (cid:129) governments.

C 187 E/180

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.7.2001

the above, and taking into account

the European dimension of the BSE phenomenon,
In view of
originating as it does in imports of contaminated British fodder, as well as the variations in response to
the problem between the fifteen Member States, does the Commission intend to issue guidelines on the
number of screening tests to be carried out in relation to total numbers of cattle, on the number of
reference laboratories needed to make the tests, on the optimal number of centres required for the
treatment, destruction and elimination of residues, and on any other measure liable to restore consumer
confidence and enable the stockbreeding sector to recover?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(15 March 2001)

Following new developments in the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic in the Community
at the end of 2000, a number of Community measures were adopted to further reinforce the protection of
consumers against BSE and to prevent the transmission of BSE. These measures include systematic testing
of all bovine animals over 30 months of age entering the food chain and a temporary ban on use of
processed animal protein in all feed for farmed animals.

Detailed rules on the testing of bovine animals for BSE are laid down in Commission Decision 98/272/EC
of 23 April 1998 on epidemio-surveillance for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (1), as last
amended by Commission Decision 2001/8/EC of 29 December 2000 (2) and Commission Decision 2000/
764/EC of 29 November 2000 on the testing of bovine animals for the presence of bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (3), as amended by Decision 2001/8/EC. According to these rules, all bovine animals over
30 months of age slaughtered for human consumption and subject to (cid:145)special emergency slaughter(cid:146), or
showing clinical symptoms of any disease in the inspection carried out before slaughter, shall be tested for
BSE as of 1 January 2001. Bovine animals over 30 months of age which die on farms or in transport shall
be tested at random with a minimum sample size laid down for each Member State based on the size of
the bovine herd. As of 1 July 2001, all bovine animals over 30 months of age slaughtered for human
consumption shall be tested for BSE.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2777/2000 of 18 December 2000 adopting exceptional support measures
for the beef market (4), further sets out that all bovine animals over 30 months of age slaughtered for
human consumption shall be tested for BSE as of 1 January 2001. Alternatively bovine animals over 30
months of age can be offered for a (cid:145)purchase for destruction(cid:146) scheme instead of being slaughtered for
human consumption.

In the beginning of this year, Member States were asked to send a report to the Commission on the status
of implementation of the new BSE-related Community measures. All Member States reported having
implemented the provisions related to BSE testing in their national legislation. Some Member States will
however only attain full testing capacity at the end of March, but in the meantime bovine animals over 30
months of age can be purchased for destruction. It would not be appropriate to issue guidelines on the
number of laboratories needed for the testing in each Member State, as the testing capacity varies between
different laboratories.

Also the capacity of plants approved to destroy animal waste can vary to a large extent. Thus the actual
number of such plants is not necessarily a good indicator of the capacity. However the Commission is
aware of the problems experienced in a number of Member States in relation to disposal of animal waste
and feed containing such waste.

The Commission will continue to monitor the situation closely, including through inspections of Food and
Veterinary Office.

(1) OJ L 122, 24.4.1998.
(2) OJ L 2, 5.1.2001.
(3) OJ L 305, 6.12.2000.
(4) OJ L 321, 19.12.2000.