WRITTEN QUESTION E-2331/02 by Dorette Corbey (PSE) to the Commission. BSE risk from frozen chicken fillets injected with beef.
Date: 2002-07-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: agro-industry, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, consumer information, food safety, food technology, foodstuffs legislation, labelling, poultrymeat

C 52 E/152

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.3.2003

Within the framework of the Community action programmes Socrates (in the field of education) and
Youth, the Commission supports a number of projects, where young people learn about the environment
in the school, as volunteers or in youth projects. The theme of environment is in fact frequently dealt with
and projects are implemented in both Member States and the applicant countries. Both programmes,
Socrates and Youth, are administrated by Directorate General (DG) Education and Culture, which thus
takes the lead in processing and supporting the applications.

In addition, the Commission gives financial support to environmental information and awareness raising
projects as well as to European environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs). These activities fall
under the responsibility of DG Environment. Also these activities are open to participation by the
applicant countries.
this year, 2002, environmental education and the
involvement of young people is included as an element of consideration. When selecting the projects to
fund, each of the two Directorates General involved must of course respect the specific eligibility clauses of
Community instruments, as approved by the Parliament and by the Council.

for proposals of

In the call

(2003/C 52 E/170)

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.

Can the Commission confirm that EU legislation authorises the injection of chicken fillets with beef

1.
and pork proteins?

Does the Commission take the view that the practice of injecting chicken fillets with beef protein

2.
entails a potential BSE risk and therefore constitutes a threat to public health?

Does the Commission take the view that the practice of injecting chicken fillets with beef protein

3.
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.

The Commission considers that the labelling of these products is clearly an infringement of the

1.
Community legislation on the labelling of foodstuffs.

6.3.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 52 E/153

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:

(cid:1) there are no legal requirements, which specifically excludes their use for this category of products;

(cid:1) the added proteins are fit for human consumption; and

(cid:1) 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 existing Community
the matter is not
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.

the revision of

The Commission has also requested information about the origin of bovine proteins in relation to

2.
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.

(2003/C 52 E/171)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2339/02

by Hartmut Nassauer (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 July 2002)

Subject: Police to be placed under jurisdiction of military courts in Slovakia

The International Union of Police Trade Unions (UISP), the European umbrella organisation representing
18 national police unions, has been informed by its member organisation in Slovakia that the Slovak
government is planning to place all police forces under the jurisdiction of the military courts. The Slovak