WRITTEN QUESTION E-1398/02 by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (PPE-DE) to the Commission. The public health implications of prions.
Date: 2002-05-15
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: bovine spongiform encephalopathy, health policy, public health, research and development, scientific research

C 277 E/200

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.11.2002

Recently, the Commission adopted decisions to reinforce the control of poultry meat imported from
Thailand and to ban the imports from China.

Concerning poultry meat imports from Brazil,
following a request for increased surveillance by the
Commission, problems have been identified recently by certain Member States, which relate to the
presence of residues of nitrofurans, a class of antimicrobials banned in the Community. During high level
contacts between the Commission and Brazil, guarantees were received that an amendment of the Brazilian
legal provisions bans the use of nitrofurans since the beginning of May 2002 and that all poultry meat
consignments will be tested for nitrofurans prior to dispatch towards the Community.

Concerning animal welfare standards, the inspections carried out by the Food and Veterinary Office cover
also the question whether legislation for the protection of animals at the time of slaughter is applied.
However, the scope for measures in relation to animal welfare is currently restricted, although the issue is
under discussion in the current Doha Development Round.

(2002/C 277 E/221)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1398/02

by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: The public health implications of prions

(15 May 2002)

An article in the ‘Journal of Biological Chemistry’ in August 2001 states that prions may be found in the
urine of hamsters, cattle and humans suffering from TSE. The French authorities have decided to add a
warning to products derived from urine in order to prevent transmission. That warning reads: ‘The risk of
transmitting infectious agents cannot be definitively ruled out where medicines prepared from human
urine are administered. The same applies to hitherto unknown pathogens.’ (unofficial translation).

In this connection:

1. Can the Commission say what the implications of this are for public health in Europe?

2. How does the Commission intend to monitor this situation?

3. What specific steps have been taken to safeguard public health at both national and Community level?

4. What further studies have been carried out by the Commission to corroborate the results of the

research as set out in the article referred to?

5. Can the Commission say what the implications are for the food chain or medicinal products derived

from urine?

6. Can the Commission say whether there is a link between the results of the research referred to and the

warning added by the French authorities to products derived from urine?

7.

If the Commission reports such a link, can it explain why the warning has not been added in other
Member States for the same products?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(3 July 2002)

The Commission is constantly monitoring all new scientific evidence related to transmissible spongiform
encephalopathy (TSE’s).

14.11.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 277 E/201

The new findings presented in the article in the ‘Journal of Biological Chemistry’ referred to by the
Honourable Member (1) have already been reviewed by the TSE/bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
ad hoc group of the Scientific Committees and discussed by the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) at its
meeting on 6 and 7 September 2001. The minutes of this meeting are published at http://europa.eu.int/
comm/food/fs/sc/ssc/out233_en.pdf.

The SSC considered that the authors of the scientific paper in question may have identified an important
phenomenon, but that their work needs to be further pursued, independently verified in other qualified
laboratories, replicated and extended before the results can be considered proven and final conclusions can
be drawn.

Research on Shaked et al suggestion that the detection of UPrPSc can be used to diagnose humans and
animals incubating prion diseases is carried out under the 5th Community Framework programme for
Research and Technological Development (RTD). Following the call for proposals for RTD actions on TSEs
in the Quality of Life Programme (QoL-2001-TSE, closed: 18 October 2001), two projects are under
negotiation, both with components addressing this finding, aiming to develop the diagnosis of human
prion diseases.

The first aims to standardise the detection of abnormal PrP in urine using the capillary electrophoresis
technique and Western blotting. It will also collect samples for others to use for further research. The
second project aims to compare the sensitivity and specificity of new prion detection tests including PrPSc
detection in urine. The latter project includes members of the team who published the above paper.

It is expected that both of these projects will start to provide corroborative data on the findings referred to
by the Honourable Member within the next three years.

For the time being, the SSC considered it premature to revise its opinions with respect to the safety of
animal and human tissues or products. However, the Commission will, with the help of the Scientific
Committees, closely monitor the results of urine infectivity studies related to the Shaked et al research and
take the necessary steps as soon as more consolidated scientific evidence is available.

(1) Shaked et al; A protease-resistant prion protein isoform is present in urine of animals and humans affected with

prion diseases; JBC, Vol. 276, No 34, 24 August 2001, p. 31479-31482.

(2002/C 277 E/222)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1404/02

by Jean-Maurice Dehousse (PSE) to the Commission

(16 May 2002)

Subject: Presence of acrylamide in foodstuffs

On Wednesday, 24 April 2002 a team of researchers at Stockholm University announced that they had
discovered that acrylamide formed when starchy foods were heated to a high temperature. The foodstuffs
in question are basic ones such as bread and biscuits F not to mention cereals and chips which, according
to the research, could contain particularly high levels of acrylamide.
If consumed in large amounts,
acrylamide can affect the nervous system and cause impotence, paralysis and cancer.

This information is in addition to the impact analyses commissioned by the Scientific Committee on
Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment (SCTEE) in order to investigate the presence of acrylamide in the
wastewater treatment cycle. Those analyses, which were presented in October 2000,
indicated that
neurotoxic effects on human beings could not be ruled out.