General Q&A
Section 11: Legislation on TSEs
11.1 EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT / COUNCIL REGULATION LAYING DOWN RULES ON THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF TSES
Q.1. What is the aim of this regulation?
Q.2. When did the regulation enter into force?
Q.3. What sectors of industry are affected?
Q.4. Do all Member States and third countries have to
comply with identical conditions of manufacture/trade?
Q.5. Will Member States be required to introduce measures
to prevent TSEs?
Q.6. What measures are Member States required to introduce
to control and eradicate TSEs?
Q.7. What conditions on trade are included in the Regulation?
Q.8. How are UK industries affected by this Regulation?
Q.9. Was there a consultation exercise on the Regulation?
[return to Q&A index]
11.2 THE TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES (NO.2) REGULATIONS 2006
Q.10. What is the aim of the TSE (No.2) Regulations
2006?
Q.11. Do the TSE (No.2) Regulations cover all aspects
of the Community Regulation?
Q.12. When did the TSE (No.2) Regulations 2002 come into
force?
Q.13. Did you consult on the Regulations?
Q.14. What former legislation does this SI revoke and
replace?
Q.15. Why does this SI only relate to England?
Q.16. What are the main changes to the previous domestic
controls?
Q.17. Does the Regulation contain over the top enforcement
powers?
[return to Q&A index]
11.1 EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT / COUNCIL REGULATION LAYING DOWN RULES ON THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF TSEs
Q.1. What is the aim of this regulation?
A. The regulation is intended to provide a secure legal base for
the various Community measures on the prevention and control of transmissible
spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs).
Q.2. When did the regulation enter into force?
A. The Regulation came into force on July 1st 2001 although there
are some transitional measures which will be applied until the BSE risk
category of countries has been determined.
Q.3. What sectors of industry are affected?
A. The proposals cover food, animal feed and fertiliser, but not
technical, cosmetic, or medical products, or the disposal of animal
waste. Intra-Community trade and imports/exports will all be treated
in a like manner.
Q.4. Do all Member States and third countries have
to comply with identical conditions of manufacture/trade?
A. No. Member States and third countries will be placed in risk
categories. Those in the higher risk categories will be subject to the
more restrictive controls.
Q.5. Will Member States be required to introduce
measures to prevent TSEs?
A. Yes. All Member States have to introduce:
- an education programme (for Government staff, vets, farmers and other animal handlers);
- a TSE monitoring programme; and
- robust animal feed controls (see section 10).
Under the transitional measures, which are in force until a decision on categorisation has been reached, all member states must ensure that specified risk material is removed and destroyed (a slightly longer list of SRM applies for the UK) and that SRM is not imported from third countries. Further, under these measures, there is a ban on using bovine, ovine and caprine bones for the production of mechanically recovered meat, and on pithing.
Q.6. What measures are Member States required to
introduce to control and eradicate TSEs?
A. All Member States have to draw up contingency plans against a
possible outbreak of BSE and ensure that:
i) suspect TSE cases are notified to the competent authority;
ii) suspect animals are placed under restriction, slaughtered, and destroyed (and the brain or other tissues are sent to an officially approved laboratory for diagnosis);
iii) infected animals are destroyed by incineration or by rendering followed by incineration;
iv) all TSE cases are subject to full epidemiological investigations;
v) in the case of BSE in cattle all cohort animals shall be placed under movement restriction or slaughtered and destroyed as well as other bovine animals, depending on the epidemiological situation;
vi) in the event that BSE in sheep or goats should be detected, the parents and offspring of the affected animal, all other ovine and caprine animals on the holding, as well as all other animals of the cohort must be slaughtered and destroyed;
vii) compensation must be paid for all animals, semen, ova and embryos destroyed.
Q.7. What conditions on trade are included in the
Regulation?
A. The Regulation sets out the conditions under which live animals,
semen, ova, embryos, meat and other animal products may be placed on
the market. These conditions include placing on the national market
and trade between Member States and with third countries.
Q.8. How are UK industries affected by this Regulation?
A. The conditions set out in the Regulation more or less reflect
the regime already in place in the UK, either under Community rules
or under national legislation. In most cases, the impact will be very
limited.
Q.9. Was there a consultation exercise on the Regulation?
A. Yes. On 19 January 1999 a consultation document was circulated
to interested organisations. However in the light of substantial changes
to the original Commission proposal a second consultation exercise was
undertaken on the 24 November 2000. We have also consulted on the Statutory
Instrument which fully gives effect to the Regulation in UK law.
11.2 THE TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES (NO.2) REGULATIONS 2006
Q.10. What is the aim of the TSE (No.2)
Regulations 2006?
A. The Regulations aim to administer and enforce the
requirements of the Community TSE Regulation. The No.2 Regulations also
introduced new requirements on the export of meat and meat products
from bovine animals and brought domestic SRM controls into line with
those in operation in the rest of Europe.
Q.11. Do the TSE (No.2) Regulations cover
all aspects of the Community Regulation?
A. The SI does not address aspects of Regulation 999/2001
which relate to the requirements on disposal of Specified Risk Materials
(SRM) which are covered in The Animal By-Products Regulations 2005.
Q.12. When did the TSE (No.2) Regulations
2006 come into force?
A. They were laid before Parliament on 2 May 2006 and
came into force on 3 May 2006.
Q.13. Did you consult on the Regulations?
A. Although the text of the No.2 Regulations was not consulted on, a
full consultation
was held on the changes that they introduced as a result of the lifting
of the export ban.
Q.14. What former legislation does this SI
revoke and replace?
A. As follows:
-
The Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Regulations 2006;
-
The Production of Bovine Collagen Intended for Human Consumption in the United Kingdom (England) Regulations 2005;
-
The Bovines and Bovine Products (Trade) Regulations 1999.
These pieces of legislation are revoked entirely.
Q.15. Why does this SI only relate to England?
A. The functions of Ministers in respect of both food
safety and animal health are now fully devolved to Scottish Ministers
and the National Assembly for Wales. Thus, devolved administrations
produced parallel legislation to apply in their parts of the UK.
Q.16. What are the main changes to the previous
domestic controls?
A. The main changes to the previous domestic controls
are as follows:
-
SRM vertebral column from bovines aged under thirty months must now be consigned either to a cutting plant, an authorised butcher’s shop, or for export. Local authorities have been given the power to authorise and register butcher’s shops for the removal of SRM vertebral column from bovine animals aged under 30 months.
-
Export of bovine animals born or reared in the UK after 31 July 1996 is now permitted. Export of bovine animals born or reared in the UK before 1 August 1996 remains an offence.
-
Export of meat or products derived from bovine animals born or reared in the UK after 31 July 1996 and slaughtered after 14 June 2005 is now permitted. Export of meat or products derived from bovine animals born or reared in the UK before August 1996 and slaughtered before 15 June 2005 remains an offence.
-
Export of vertebral column from bovine animals born after 31 July 1996, slaughtered after 2 May 2006 and any products derived from such vertebral column is now permitted. Export of vertebral column from bovine animals born before 1 August 1996, slaughtered before 3 May 2006 and any products derived from such vertebral column remains an offence.
Q.17. Does the Regulation contain over the
top enforcement powers?
A. No. The powers inspectors have in this SI may be
used only for the purposes of enforcing / administering the No.2 regulations
or the European TSE regulations. Thus, powers cannot be applied indiscriminately
or on an inappropriate scale, and are limited to particular categories
of cattle, sheep and goats.
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1 June 2006