UK firms have not been allowed to produce desinewed beef and lamb since April 2012 because of a legal disagreement between Defra and the European Commission.
Production of cattle, sheep and goat-produced desinewed meat, which is manufactured using a low pressure technique to remove meat from animal bones, is prohibited by the EC decision.
It may still be produced using poultry and pig bones but must be labelled as Mechanically Separated Meat (MSM).
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) is a cross-party committee of UK MPs which examines the work of Defra.
Quicker action
Anne McIntosh, chair of the EFRA committee, said government must speed up action to lift a ban on UK meat production.
“This supposedly temporary ban has been in place for 18 months with no prospect of it being lifted urgently. British producers have been left in legal limbo with jobs lost, meat wasted and prices pushed up as a result of the ban.
“We need much more urgency from the government in ending this unnecessary moratorium that they themselves do not think right.”
DSM can be produced from poultry and pig bones, but must be labelled as Mechanically Separated Meat (MSM) on products and can no longer count towards meat content.
Owen Paterson MP, secretary of state for the environment, confirmed that the UK government considers the ban “temporary”, and does “not agree with the EU interpretation of legislation” on desinewed meat.
“There is no evidence of an increased risk to human health from eating meat produced from the DSM production process.”
The commission has resumed discussions after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) opinion on the risks associated with Mechanically Seperated Meat (MSM) from poultry and pork.
No link to horsemeat
Paterson ruled out any link between the moratorium on desinewed meat and the horsemeat contamination in beef burgers and other food products.
“There is currently no evidence to suggest a link between the moratorium on DSM and the horsemeat fraud.
“Investigations carried out across Europe suggest that horsemeat fraud stems back some time before the ending of DSM production in the UK”.
Paterson said that the horsemeat fraud was not anticipated by any Member State and will shape approaches and responses to future fraud incidents.
“Official testing needs to be properly planned if findings are to be used to take forward enforcement action.
“FSA and DEFRA worked with local authorities to ensure that the testing programme was coordinated, targeted and representative of products on sale in the UK.”
He added that laboratory capacity will be discussed at future meetings between FSA, DEFRA and representatives from the Association of Public Analysts.
McIntosh said that it will only be possible to draw a line under the matter when it can be said where the contamination, adulteration and lack of authenticity entered the food chain.