Keywords
Citation
Jukes, D. (1999), "BSE and the UK export ban", British Food Journal, Vol. 101 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/bfj.1999.070101aab.017
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited
BSE and the UK export ban
BSE and the UK export ban
The EU Standing Veterinary Committee on the 4 November 1998 voted in favour of lifting the UK beef export ban. The proposal on the Date-Based Export Scheme will have been to the Agriculture Council on 23-24 November -- at the time of writing, the results of the meeting are not known. Eight countries in the committee voted in favour of the scheme and five against, with two abstentions. It would allow the UK to resume exports of beef from cattle born after 1 August 1996. The ban was introduced in March 1996, following evidence of a possible link between BSE (``mad cow disease'') and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.
The move was immediately welcomed by Agriculture Minister, Nick Brown:
This is good news for Britain's farmers and for the country as a whole. It shows that we are proving our case on the science, and that the EU procedures we have followed since the Florence Agreement are working for the UK. There is still work to be done. The issue will now go to the Council of Agriculture Ministers later this month where I hope it will be settled.
The Government has worked incredibly hard over the last 18 months to get to this position. I am taking nothing for granted and will continue to explain Britain's case based on our guiding principles of protecting public health and following the science. We have done everything asked of us and more besides, and our efforts to make British beef amongst the safest in the world are now being recognised.