BSE: export rules change

The European Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health voted in favour of a European Commission proposal changing the rules for the dispatch from the United Kingdom of bovine products under the Date-Based Export Scheme (DBES).

Under the existing rules, slaughterhouses and processing plants operating under the scheme cannot be used for the slaughter or processing of non-DBES eligible animals and only deboned meat can be exported. The proposal removes the requirement for dedication of slaughterhouses and processing plants.

Companies participating in the export scheme will also be authorised to slaughter and process DBES ineligible bovine animals, provided that adequate separation arrangements are in place. The proposal also foresees authorising the export of bovine embryos and removes the requirement for DBES beef from animals between six and nine months to be deboned. The new rules will enter into force after formal adoption by the Commission.