Norway BSE controls match EU effectiveness, finds EFSA
Norway remains outside the EU, and although it implements many EU rules as part of the European Economic Area (EEA), it has complete independence over food production matters, and difference in regulation can restrict its access to EU meat markets.
However, its government wants to ensure that BSE controls are not cited as a reason for preventing the sale of Norwegian beef in the EU and has asked EFSA (channelling its request through the European Free Trade Area – EFTA) to assess these safeguards.
After an assessment, EFSA concluded: “Considering the past and current Norwegian measures to prevent the BSE agent circulation in the cattle population and the quality of their implementation, the Norwegian system can be considered as providing guarantees comparable to the ones of the EU…[excluding newer members Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia].”
That said, EFSA did suggest some improvements could be made. Notably, a “significant number of eligible at-risk cattle in Norway” have been reported as missing BSE tests, it said, adding, “A substantial improvement of the current testing coverage of these animals was recommended.”
And it also recommended that Norway ensured a physical separation of feed production for ruminants from that for non-ruminants, to avoid potential cross-contamination with risk material. This would boost “confidence in the Norwegian measures to prevent the spread of BSE and other TSEs”, said the EU agency. It added that Norway did not need to test slaughtered healthy animals to tighten its BSE controls.
