Spinal cord has been found in beef imported from The Netherlands into the UK. Bovine spinal cord is classified as specified risk material (SRM) and is therefore among those parts of the animal most likely to contain BSE infectivity. Under European law, SRM must be removed immediately after slaughter, stained, and disposed of safely.

The discovery was made yesterday (Tuesday 7th August) in one out of 200 quarters of beef being unloaded at ADM, Eastbourne. The receiving company was not responsible for the problem. The beef came from Domburg Vlees bv, Bodegraven, The Netherlands.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

The beef quarter involved has been detained under the Products of Animal Origin (Import and Export) Regulations, pending its disposal which will be supervised by the Meat Hygiene Service. The rest of the consignment was checked by the MHS and found to be in full compliance with the legislation. The Chief Veterinary Officer of The Netherlands and the European Commission have been notified of this breach.


The name of the Dutch abattoir concerned will be added to the list of European abattoirs from which beef containing spinal cord has been imported into the UK.


While SRM is among those parts of the animal most likely to contain BSE infectivity, the results so far of BSE tests conducted on healthy cattle across the EU have been described as encouraging, tending to indicate that there is no massive, hidden BSE epidemic in Europe. In The Netherlands there were only two positive tests out of 120,873 animals tested between January and the end of May this year.



NOTES FOR EDITORS

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.


  1. The following table gives cumulative figures for the numbers of healthy cattle tested for BSE from January to the end of May 2001, across all EU Member States. It does not include BSE suspect animals (those reported as BSE suspects) nor “at risk” animals (defined as those found dead-on-farm; emergency slaughtered animals, and those sent for normal slaughter but found to be sick at ante-mortem inspection). Adult cattle are defined as those aged 24 months or over.


RESULTS OF BSE TESTING IN THE EU, January to end May 2001

(Healthy animals only)
























































































 
Adult cattle
(in million)
Healthy Animals

Of which No. of
Positive
(pending)

Belgique/België
1.5
122,416
11
Danmark
0.9
100,549
0
Deutschland
6.6
868,541
18
Ellas
0.3
4,717
0
Espana
3.4
96,312
22
France
11.0
801,844
25
Ireland
3.4
84,458
2
Italia
3.4
90,541
10
Luxembourg
0.1
8,990
0
Nederland
1.8
120,873
2
Österreich
1.0
77,714
0
Portugal
0.8
3,798
0 (1 pending)
Suomi-Finland
0.4
1,761
0
Sverige
0.7
0
0
United Kingdom
5.3
171
0
Total
40.8
2382685
90 (1 pending)

Source: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/bse/testing/bse_results_en.html