The European Union’s member states have voted in favour of the European Commission’s proposal to step up testing for BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in the EU goat population, following the confirmation last week of the first case of BSE, commonly known as mad cow disease, found in a goat.
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The testing scheme was proposed by the Commission to determine if this BSE case represents an isolated incident or if further measures need to be taken. The situation will be closely monitored and reviewed at the latest after six months, based on the results of the increased testing and the outcome of a quantitative risk assessment on the safety of goat meat currently being carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Commission said.
“Our priority is to safeguard the health of Europe’s citizens and I therefore want to act quickly to determine the significance of this case. That is why we are significantly stepping up the level of testing. We will monitor the situation closely and review all the data and scientific advice again in six months,” said Markos Kyprianou, commissioner for health and consumer protection.
The Commission said it is proposing increased testing in goats for at least six months. The extent of the monitoring programme will be based on the goat population in each member state and will focus primarily on countries where BSE is present in the cattle population.
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