General Q&A
Section 6: Public Health Issues (ii) - Specified Risk Materials
6.1 SRM - UK CONTROLS
Q.1. When and why were controls for Specified Risk Material
(SRM) first introduced?
Q.2. When and why were controls extended to cover Sheep
and Goat SRM?
Q.3. What is the purpose of the SRM controls?
Q.4. Is there any evidence of a risk from eating lamb/sheep
meat?
Q.5. What is the current legislation on Specified Risk
Material?
Q.6. What tissues are designated as Specified Risk Material
in the UK?
Q.7. How can we be sure that the current list of SRM removes
BSE risk?
Q.8. What happens to the SRM after removal and how do
we know it is disposed of safely?
Q.9. Might effluent waste contain SRM?
Enforcement
Q.10. Who enforces the SRM controls?
Q.11. What action is being taken to ensure full compliance
with the existing SRM controls?
Q.12. What action would be taken if SRM were discovered
as being available for retail sale?
Q.13. Who pays for the enforcement of SRM controls?
[return to Q&A index]
6.2 CONTROLS ON IMPORTS AND SPECIFIED RISK MATERIAL
Q.14. Is imported beef produced to the standards of
hygiene which apply in the UK?
Q.15. Who is responsible for checking that standards
are complied with in other countries?
Q.16. What are the SRM controls on imports?
Q.17. Are there any exemptions from the SRM rules?
Q.18. What will happen if consignments are not accompanied
by the necessary certification?
Q.19. How often are consignments from third countries
checked to ensure they have SRM certification?
Q.20. What will happen if consignments without SRM certification
are discovered?
Q.21. What about checks on imports from, or via, other
EU Member States?
6.3 EU WIDE CONTROLS ON SPECIFIED RISK MATERIAL
Q.22. What progress has been made on Community-wide
SRM controls?
Q.23. What effect does the Regulation have?
Q.24. Are the controls the same throughout the EU?
Q.25. Why stricter controls in UK and Portugal?
Q.26. Is the Regulation scientifically based?
Q.27. What methods of disposal can be used for SRM?
[return to Q&A index]
6.1 SRM - UK CONTROLS
Q.1. When and why were controls for
Specified Risk Material (SRM) first introduced?
A. Controls banning the use of certain bovine offals in human food
were first introduced in November 1989. This followed scientific advice
on tissues which were known to, or might potentially, harbour detectable
BSE infectivity in infected animals. These controls have been regularly
reviewed and extended since that time on the basis of developing scientific
evidence. The use of these tissues, now known as specified risk material
(SRM) is now controlled by directly applicable EU TSE Regulations.
Q.2. When and why were controls extended
to cover Sheep and Goat SRM?
A. In September 1996 controls were introduced to prohibit the sale
of any part of sheep and goat heads (apart from the tongue) for human
consumption. This followed advice from the Spongiform Encephalopathy
Advisory Committee (SEAC) after consideration of research, published
in July 1996, which confirmed that sheep could be experimentally infected
with BSE.
Q.3. What is the purpose of the SRM
controls?
A. There is a small risk that cattle sub-clinically infected with
BSE (i.e. showing no outward signs of the disease) might be slaughtered
for food. With the decline in the BSE epidemic and the introduction
of BSE testing of older cattle, the estimated risk from animals currently
entering the human food chain is very low. The SRM controls are in place
in order to reduce potential human exposure to BSE infectivity by removing
the tissues that might contain infectivity from the food chain.
Q.4. Is there any evidence of a risk
from eating lamb/sheep meat?
A. BSE has never been found to occur naturally in the UK sheep flock.
However, some sheep ate the same feed (MBM) which is thought to have
given cattle BSE and sheep can be artificially infected with BSE. Sheep
are also known to suffer from a similar disease, scrapie which could
possibly be masking BSE. There is, therefore, a possible risk that BSE
exists in sheep. Sheep SRM is therefore removed on a purely precautionary
basis.
Q.5. What is the current legislation
on Specified Risk Material?
A. The EC Regulation 999/2001 (as amended), lays down rules for
the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible encephalopathies.
It is directly applicable in UK law and in force throughout the EU.
It defines SRM and requires all Member States to take measures to remove
all SRM from cattle, sheep and goats. The TSE (England) Regulation 2006
(as amended) sets out the requirements for enforcing the EC Regulation
999/2001 in England. Equivalent legislation exists in Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland.
Q.6. What tissues are designated as
Specified Risk Material in the UK?
A. Details are available on the FSA
website.
Q.7. How can we be sure that the current
list of SRM removes BSE risk?
A.The SRM controls have been and are, regularly reviewed and strengthened
on the basis of developing scientific evidence. In the UK the Spongiform
Encephalopathy Advisory Committee is the main scientific advisory body.
In the EU, SCoFAH (Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health) provide scientific advice to the Commission and discuss all legislation on TSEs. Advice and recommendations are also provided by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). New EC wide controls are introduced only after examination of scientific evidence and assessment of the risk.
Research undertaken for the Review of the former Over Thirty Months Rule, published in 2003 and undertaken on behalf of the FSA, assessed that the current SRM controls removed 99% of infectivity that may be present. (The Over Thirty Months rule was replaced by testing of older animals on 7 November 2005).
Q.8. What happens to the SRM
after removal and how do we know it is disposed of safely?
A. Once SRM has been removed from a carcase, it must be stained
in accordance with the TSE Regulation. It must then be consigned without
undue delay to a premises approved to handle SRM. In most instances,
this will be an incinerator, where it will be destroyed, or a rendering
plant where the SRM will be processed prior to incineration, co-incineration
or disposal in an approved landfill site. However, SRM may also be used
in research premises and some SRM can be used in technical plants (See
6.3 Q.28). There are strict rules relating to the handling and storage
of SRM at these premises, and during transit between them.
Q.9. Might effluent waste contain
SRM?
A. All particulate material recovered from drainage traps in slaughterhalls
is disposed of as SRM. Enforcement of controls on effluent waste is
a matter for the relevant regulatory body (that is the relevant water
services company for discharges to sewers; or the Environment Agency
for discharges to rivers or lakes).
Enforcement
Q.10. Who enforces the SRM controls?
A. The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS), an Executive Agency of the Food
Standards Agency (FSA), rigorously enforces the SRM controls on a day
to day basis in licensed slaughterhouses and cutting plants in England,
Scotland and Wales. In other food premises the SRM controls are enforced
by the local authorities (these premises are not supposed to handle
SRM but LAs enforce rules if SRM is found). In Northern Ireland SRM
controls in licensed premises are enforced by the Department of Agriculture
and Rural Development (DARD)
Q.11. What action is being taken
to ensure full compliance with the existing SRM controls?
A. SRM controls are rigorously enforced by the MHS which is present
in slaughterhouses on a permanent basis and makes daily visits to cutting
premises. MHS inspectors supervise the removal of SRM by the plant operator.
Where slaughterhouses and licensed cutting plants fail to comply with
the regulations, the MHS will initiate prosecution if there are sufficient
grounds for doing so. Local authorities enforce the SRM controls at
other premises. Any premises failing to comply may face prosecution
by the appropriate local authority if there is sufficient evidence.
Q.12. What action would be taken
if SRM were discovered as being available for retail sale?
A. Outside of licensed abattoirs and cutting premises, the SRM controls
are enforced by the local authority. Were SRM (e.g. sheep head or brain
or other SRM still attached to other cuts of meat) to be discovered
on retail sale, the local authority would have the power to seize the
material and may prosecute the owner of the business if there is sufficient
evidence to do so.
Discovery of SRM for retail sale would suggest that the meat had not been obtained from a licensed slaughterhouse, and should not legally be sold for human consumption, since all meat from licensed premises is checked and health marked to certify that it is fit for human consumption (and has therefore had all SRM removed).
Q.13. Who pays for the enforcement
of SRM controls?
A. At present the cost of MHS enforcement of the SRM controls at
licensed premises is met by the Food Standards Agency. The cost for
the year ending 31 March 2005 is expected to be around £14m.
6.2 CONTROLS ON IMPORTS AND SPECIFIED RISK MATERIAL
Q.14. Is imported beef produced to
the standards of hygiene which apply in the UK?
A. All consignments of fresh meat imported into the UK, from other
Member States must be produced in accordance with the Community TSE
Regulations (EC 999/2001 (as amended)). Specified risk material must
be removed in the country of origin (with the exception of vertebral
column in over 12 months of age imported cattle which must be removed
at a licensed cutting plant in the UK). The risk to public health from
BSE in third countries, is minimised through the application of these
existing EU rules. Imports of beef and beef products are permitted only
if EU rules requiring the removal of specified risk material are met
and veterinary certification of this is provided.
Q15. Who is responsible for checking
that standards are complied with in other countries?
A. Ensuring that all Member States comply with their Community obligations
in properly implementing and applying the Directive is the responsibility
of the European Commission, whose Food and Veterinary Office carries
out regular programmes of inspection visits to all Member States. Their
reports are considered by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and
Animal Health (SCOFCAH) in Brussels, and, if necessary, the Commission
will take infraction proceedings against Member States whose arrangements
are considered inadequate.
Q.16. What are the SRM controls on
imports?
A. A. Imports of SRM are generally prohibited. However, bovine carcases
containing vertebral column may be imported provided they are transported
directly, with advance notice, to approved premises for the removal
of vertebral column.
Q.17. Are there any exemptions from
the SRM rules?
A. Details are available on the FSA
website.
Q.18. What will happen if consignments
are not accompanied by the necessary certification?
A. They will not be allowed into the country. The maximum penalty
for imports in contravention of the Order is an unlimited fine and/or
up to 12 months imprisonment.
Q.19. How often are consignments
from third countries checked to ensure they have SRM certification?
A. Instructions to UK Border Inspection Post (BIP) operators require
them to check that every consignment of animal products which requires
SRM import certification has it.
Q.20. What will happen if consignments
without SRM certification are discovered?
A. Where it is discovered that products have been imported without
the necessary SRM certification an inspector may seize and destroy the
product. Alternatively, if appropriate, the importer may be offered
the option of re-exporting the consignment. In addition, the relevant
local authority responsible for enforcement action would be informed
so that they could carry out further investigations and consider prosecution
action.
Q.21. What about checks on imports
from, or via, other EU Member States?
A. Single Market rules only permit random spot-checks at destination
on products traded within the Community. However, following a number
of finds of SRM in meat imported from some Member States, FSA has instructed
the MHS to check all consignments of imported beef and this policy remains
current within the UK. Following the reduction in cases, the policy
of 100% checks is to be reviewed.
6.3 EU WIDE CONTROLS ON SPECIFIED RISK MATERIAL
Q.22. What progress has been made
on Community-wide SRM controls?
A. EU wide SRM controls set out in Commission Decision 2000/418
first entered into force on October 1st 2000. The Decision has now been
replaced by Council Regulation 999/2000 (as amended), which lays down
rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible
spongiform encephalopathies. The Regulation is directly applicable in
all Member States.
Q.23. What effect does the Regulation
have?
A. The Regulation provides harmonised EU-wide controls on the removal
of SRM, the monitoring of TSEs and the feeding of animal protein to
livestock.
Q.24. Are the SRM controls the same
throughout the EU?
A. Currently the same SRM controls are applicable in most Member
States. However a slightly longer list of bovine SRM applies to the
UK.
Q.25. Why are there stricter controls
in UK?
A. The UK historically had the most cases of BSE but the incidence
of BSE in UK cattle has declined markedly and is now below the internationally
agreed threshold for moderate BSE risk status.
Q.26. Is the Regulation scientifically
based?
A. The Regulation is based on advice from the European Food Safety
Authority (EFSA) and the EC Standing Committee on the Food Chain and
Animal Health (SCoFAH).
Q.27. What methods of disposal
can be used for SRM?
A. Permissible disposal routes for SRM under the EU Animal By-Products
Regulations 1774/2002 are:
- Incineration in an approved plant
- Rendering in an approved rendering plant, followed by incineration or co-incineration in an approved incinerator
- Rendering in an approved rendering plant to the EU pressure-rendering standard (minimum 133°C for 20 minutes at 3-bar pressure), followed by landfill in an approved landfill site
Some types of SRM may also be used in certain technical products (e.g. bovine horns may be used in the production of walking sticks, bovine intestine is used in the manufacture of musical instrument strings). SRM may also be used for research or educational purposes in an authorised premises.
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Page last modified:
19 December, 2006