BSE: Over Thirty Month cattle - Q&A
The OTM Rule
Q. Is meat from OTM cattle allowed to be sold for human consumption?
A. Yes. Since 7 November 2005 meat from OTM cattle born after July 1996 can be sold for human consumption, within the UK, provided that the OTM animal was slaughtered at an abattoir which has been approved to slaughter OTM bovines by the Meat Hygiene Service (further information on the approval process is available).
Q. Is meat from cattle born before August 1996 allowed to be sold for human consumption?
A. No. Cattle born or reared in the UK before August 1996 are excluded from the food chain but can enter the Older Cattle Disposal Scheme.
Q. Do all OTM cattle intended for sale for human consumption have to be tested for BSE?
A. Yes, It has been a requirement in European legislation since 1 January 2001 that meat from cattle aged over 30 months, slaughtered anywhere in the European Community, may only be released for human consumption if it has been tested and found negative for BSE.
Q. What was the OTM Rule?
A. The OTM rule banned the sale for human consumption of meat from cattle aged over thirty months at the time of slaughter. The ban took effect on 29 March 1996. On 7 November 2005 the rule was replaced with a system of BSE testing for OTM cattle born after July 1996.
Q. Why was the OTM rule introduced?
A. When the probable link between BSE and the human disease vCJD was established in 1996, SEAC recommended that meat from animals aged over 30 months should be deboned. However, at the time deboning was considered impractical so the Government decided to exclude OTM cattle from the food chain to protect public health.
Q. Why did the FSA advise that testing could replace the OTM rule?
A. The advice
(3.1 MB - Warning - this is a very large file from another website)
followed careful and thorough consideration by the FSA
Board of a Core Stakeholder Group report,
the results
of public consultation
(110 KB) and the outcome of a risk assessment directed and peer-reviewed
by a joint FSA/Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) risk
assessment group (RAG). RAG included SEAC members, other international
and UK experts, and was chaired by the SEAC Chairman. The risk assessment
was peer reviewed separately by SEAC, and all three main elements of
the risk assessment were accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
[1
(138 KB)] [2]
[3
(107 KB)]. In December 2004 the Government announced the start of a
managed transition from the OTM rule to a system of BSE testing but
made it clear that the final switch to testing should only happen when
the FSA had advised Minister’s on the system’s robustness.
Q. How did the FSA decide that the BSE testing system was robust?
A. The FSA set up an Independent Advisory Group (IAG)
to advise on what should be the key components of the testing regime
as well as to advise whether such a regime was robust, primarily through
a series of trials held in a number of abattoirs across the UK. The
IAG presented its report
to the FSA Board in August 2005. Following consideration of this report
the FSA Board agreed to advise the Government that a reliable BSE testing
system for OTM cattle had been designed and trialled.
Q. Why did it take so long to replace the OTM rule?
A. Government has always put public health at the top of its agenda and it had to be satisfied that sufficient measures would be in place to safeguard public health before replacing the OTM rule.
Q. Can I still slaughter OTM cattle under the Beef Assurance Scheme (BAS)?
A. No. The Scheme closed on 7 November 2005, when the new testing system for OTM cattle was introduced.
Q. What about imported meat from OTM cattle?
A. Other Member States of the EU test for BSE on the same basis as the new system of testing introduced in the UK on 7 November; meat from OTM cattle slaughtered there can now be sold for human consumption here. The OTM rule did not apply to meat imported from 14 countries that had traditionally supplied the UK and in which there was no history of BSE at the time the rule was introduced. These were Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, Mauritius, Namibia, New Zealand, Paraguay, Poland, South Africa, Swaziland, Uruguay, the USA and Zimbabwe.
The Older Cattle Disposal Scheme (OCDS)
Q. What is the purpose of this Scheme?
A. The Scheme allows the UK Government to purchase, for slaughter and ultimate destruction, those bovine animals born or reared in the UK before August 1996 which cannot be slaughtered for human consumption. Animals must also be free of the clinical signs of BSE and be fit for human consumption.
Q. When did the Scheme start?
A. The OCDS came into operation on 23 January 2006, replacing the Over Thirty Month Scheme.
Q. Who operates the scheme?
A. The Rural Payments Agency. Advice on the scheme can be obtained by contacting the Rural Payments Agency Slaughter Scheme Helpline on 0118 968 7333.
Q. How many animals do you expect to slaughter under this scheme?
A. It is expected that approximately 400,000 animals will be slaughtered under the Scheme.
Q. How long will the Scheme run for?
A. The OCDS will end on 31 December 2008.
Q. Where can I find out more about the Scheme?
A. Further information on the Scheme is available on the OCDS page of the website and also on the RPA website.
Page last modified:
19 December, 2006