Meat Industry INSIGHTS Newsletter

971221 UK Says All Beef Must Be Deboned Before Sale

December 3, 1997

LONDON - Britain ordered all beef from animals over six months old to be deboned before sale as a precautionary move following new research on BSE.

Agriculture Minister Jack Cunningham told parliament the risk of contamination from bones was "very small" and it would apply to both British and imported beef.

Cunningham said his decision was prompted by a report he received on Wednesday morning from the government's scientific experts on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).

Tests found that the disease could be transmitted in nervous tissue -- "dorsal root ganglia" -- close to the spine of infected animals.

But Cunningham said that meat once deboned was safe to eat. The removal of beef bones from the food chain means butchers will no longer be able to sell them or give them away.

He promised that the experts' latest report would be made public.

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