Report of specified risk material and other BSE control breaches for July and August 2007
Thursday 27 September 2007
The following report from the Food Standards Agency provides an update on specified risk material (SRM) finds and related issues in July and August 2007. These reports are usually posted on the Agency’s website normally during the second week of each month.
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Background on SRM issues
- SRM is that part of the animal most likely to contain BSE infectivity
- The SRM controls remove over 99% of BSE infectivity that may be present in cattle
- Under European Union (EU) law, SRM must be removed as soon as possible after slaughter, stained and disposed of safely
SRM breaches reported in July
Imported SRM breach
There were no imported SRM breaches reported in July 2007
Domestic SRM breach
On 20 July 2007 a report was made to the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) of the discovery of approximately 30 cm of spinal cord, which is SRM, attached to the neck of an over thirty month (OTM) bovine carcase. The animal had been slaughtered on 12 July 2007 and had tested negative for BSE. The carcase was partially cut and boned before the spinal cord was identified in the neck. The neck, with the spinal cord, was detained and none of the meat from that part of the carcase entered the food supply.
The breach was reported to the MHS by the Manager of John Scott Meat (Paisley) Ltd, an approved cutting plant in Scotland. The spinal cord should have been removed at the co-located slaughterhouse, Sandyford Abattoir Ltd, prior to despatch to the cutting plant.
A full investigation was conducted and measures taken to prevent a recurrence.
SRM breaches in August 2007
There were no SRM breaches reported