BSE - Margaret Beckett Welcomes French Food Standards Agency Report on the Safety of British Beef

Defra Secretary of State Margaret Beckett today welcomed the French Food Standards Agency's (AFSSA) report on the safety of British beef. The report said that British beef produced under the Date-based Export Scheme (DBES) presented no increased risk to French consumers.

She also welcomed the Government's assurance that it would reach a conclusion on whether the ban should be lifted within the next two weeks.

She said:
"We welcome the progress that is being made and expect the French Government to make a decision quickly. The only question we need answered now is when will be ban be lifted. This ban has been and continues to be illegal. British beef exports are amongst the safest in the world and this has been agreed by European experts."

The following notes are added:

1. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on 13 December 2001 that the ban was illegal. On 17 July 2002, the Commission stated that it would be referring the case back to the Court with a recommendation that it should impose substantial fines on the French Government for non-compliance with the ECJ ruling. The Commission asked the Court to impose a fine of 158,250 Euros (about £100,000) a day.

2. On 13 June 2002 the French Government asked AFSSA for an opinion on the relative safety of British beef as compared with other beef on the French market. Under French law the Government cannot amend legislation in respect of the ban on British beef - or any other food safety related matter - without first obtaining an opinion from AFSSA. The report will now be discussed by French Ministers.

3. AFSSA issued two previous opinions on British beef exported under the Date Based Export Scheme in 1999.

4. Exports of British beef under the Date-based Export Scheme are due to resume shortly following changes to the Scheme formally agreed in Brussels on 20 August in Commission Decision 2002/670/EC. These changes make it easier for companies to produce beef for export, as both DBES eligible and ineligible beef can be processed in approved establishments. Previously, establishments were required to handle only DBES eligible cattle and beef even for output destined for the domestic market.

5. Membership of the EU has been of great benefit to Britain throughout the BSE crisis. The EU has provided a dependable framework for the eradication of BSE, the introduction of safety measures and the resumption of exports. After the worldwide ban on British beef exports, other EU countries were the first to accept British beef, when EU scientists vouched for its safety. This satisfied all EU countries - except so far France.

6. EU institutions have worked for UK interests from the start. EU scientists gave British beef the all-clear and the European Commission upheld their verdict, taking steps against both Germany and France. The European Court of Justice has already given a ruling against France. The next step would be daily fines starting from the date of the Court's second Judgment.

7. Without this framework, Britain would have faced the task of convincing 14 different health authorities and governments to accept our beef bilaterally, without the support of the independent EU or ECJ. Nearly 100 other countries around the world still don't accept UK beef - including the US and Australia. As they are not in the EU, the UK doesn't have as much influence over them.

8. A chronology of the disease and the history of the ban is as follows:

• November 1986 - The disease was identified by the Central Veterinary Laboratory.
• 18 July 1988 - The ruminant feed ban came into force.
• 27 March 1996 - Commission Decision 96/239/EC introduces world-wide ban on the exports of bovine and bovine products from the UK.
• 29 March 1996 - The Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Amendment) Order 1996 (SI 1996/962) bans the sale of Mammalian Meat and Bone Meal (MMBM).
• 21 June 1996 - The framework for lifting the export ban was agreed at the Florence European Council.
• 16 March 1998 - The Agriculture Council adopted Council Decision 98/256/EC, which allows the export of beef and beef products from Northern Ireland under the Export Certified Herd Scheme and for the export of products containing foreign origin bovine material from Export Approved Premises in the UK.
• 25 November 1998 - The Commission adopted Commission Decision 98/692/EC amending Decision 98/256/EC to provide for the Date-based Export Scheme.
• 1 August 1999 - The Date-based Export Scheme (DBES) started.
• 29 October 1999 - The Commission's Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) concluded unanimously that it does not share the concerns of the French Food Standards Agency about the safety of British beef and beef products exported under DBES.
• 9 December 1999 - The French Government announced it would maintain its ban on British beef.
• 14 December 1999 - Commission issued a Reasoned Opinion on France's failure to lift the ban.
• 30 December 1999 - France responded to the Reasoned Opinion, maintaining the ban on British beef.
• 4 March 2000 - Notification of the Commission's ECJ case (Case C-1/00) published in the Official Journal.
• 29 March 2000 - German ban on UK beef formally lifted.
• 13 December 2001 - ECJ rules French ban illegal.
• April 2002 - Following France's continued refusal to lift its ban, the Commission sent an Article 228 to France, starting the process which may result in a second ECJ case.
• 13 June 2002 - President Chirac asks AFSSA to review the safety of British beef.
• 26 June 2002 - A Reasoned Opinion was issued by the European Commission to the French Government for failing to lift its ban on British beef. France was given 15 days to respond to this.
• 17 July 2002 - Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) agrees amended rules to DBES. EU Commission states that it will refer the beef ban case back to the ECJ to impose penalties.
• 20 August 2002 - EU Commission formally agrees to new rules for DBES.