The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has recommended to the European Commission (EC) that sheep intestine should be banned from food use on a Europe-wide basis as a precautionary measure against the theoretical risk of BSE in sheep.
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The FSA takes the view that although this is a theoretical risk it has to be considered in the context of the possible human health impact of vCJD should BSE be present in sheep.
The proposed ban, added to the current controls, could reduce potential infectivity entering the food chain by up to two-thirds if BSE were to be found in sheep. Current precautionary measures are estimated to reduce risk by very approximately one-third.
The measure is subject to EU-wide agreement. Until such a decision is taken, it remains legal to buy and sell natural lamb sausage casings.
Most sausages in the UK use artificial casings. About 15% of the sausages sold use sheep intestine and they are usually sold at higher prices than sausages using artificial casings. Alternative natural or artificial casings are available should sheep casings be banned.
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By GlobalDataThe FSA has accepted the current risk assessment that, were BSE to be found in sheep, infectivity would be greater in mutton, the intestine and lymph nodes. The Agency accepted that banning intestine was practical and proportionate to the risk and the removal of lymph nodes was rejected as being too costly and difficult to achieve.
The FSA has agreed to take forward further measures to protect and inform consumers about the theoretical risk of BSE in sheep. These include:
*communicating the higher theoretical risk of infectivity in mutton and goat to those communities – Muslim and Afro-Caribbean – that are most likely to be affected
*seeking agreement with baby food manufacturers for the voluntary ‘country of origin’ labelling on lamb products coupled with information from the EU on the sheep-BSE risk from different countries to enable maximum choice for parents
*supporting the acceleration of the national scapie plan to eliminate TSEs (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies)
*commissioning a full audit on the uses of sheep and goat products.
There is a theoretical risk of BSE in sheep because: sheep ate the same feed that gave cattle BSE; it has been shown that sheep can be artificially infected with BSE; and it is possible that BSE is hidden by scrapie in sheep and passed between flocks or from a mother to her lambs.
Although BSE has never been found in the UK sheep flock, only a small number of scrapie affected sheep – some 200 – have been tested with the most effective test available.
Sir John Krebs, chairman of the FSA, said: “The board has looked carefully at the issues involved, which are surrounded by considerable scientific uncertainty.
“When considering measures to protect the public against the appalling consequences of vCJD, the board felt it was right to recommend practical and proportionate measures that could significantly reduce the risk, even though it remains a theoretical one.
“We have deliberately taken a precautionary approach. We are not advising against the consumption of sheepmeat. Until, and unless there is European agreement, buying and selling sausage casings made from sheep intestine remains legal. However, consumers have a right to know that, if BSE were present in sheep, their risk could be significantly reduced by avoiding sausages made with natural lamb casings and avoiding mutton.”
Pre-packed sausages should be labelled with a description of the sausage skin and consumers can ask their butchers if they are buying loose sausages. Lamb and mutton should always be labelled if sold pre-packed or loose. There is no requirement for caterers to label sausage skins, or declare whether meat is lamb or mutton.
