OTMS SCRAPPING DELAYED

Originally from: Farmtalking
                        
http://www.farmtalking.org/news landwriter.html
 
OTMS SCRAPPING DELAYED

Meat from cattle over 30-months old, but born after the feed-ban, will not now be allowed on the market until at least Easter next year.

The decision, by the Department of Health goes against the advice of the Food Standards Agency, which recommended the return of OTM beef to the food chain from January, and has angered the National Beef Association.

It says it cannot understand why the FSA advice that beef from older animals poses no risk to consumers, has been ignored.

"The FSA was established by government as an independent arbiter on food safety and it has already made it clear that 95 per cent of the risk to consumers is eliminated with the routine removal of SRM from all carcases and all but an infinitesimally small part of the remainder through compulsory brain testing and the destruction of BSE positive animals," said NBA chairman, Robert Robinson.

"Defra is in the process of establishing a robust and reliable testing system that is on target to operate at full effectiveness from January 12th and we are extremely disappointed that the FSA's advice has not been embraced as easily by the Department of Health as it as by other government departments and the long anticipated re-appearance of older beef has been delayed."

In the meantime, says the NBA, the OTMS is burdening tax payers with a £400 million a year bill.

"To say we are saddened at the continuation of this unjustifiably expensive exercise is an understatement," said Mr Robinson.

"As a result of the Department of Health's hesitation the exchequer continues to be burdened with a gigantic cash commitment that would be spent many times more usefully elsewhere."

And he says the decision has undermined the standing as an arbiter, independent of Government, has been undermined.