France is suffering from what is widely described as a "national psychosis" over bovine spongi form encephalopathy (BSE) or "mad cow disease". Sales of beef dropped 50 per cent in the past week and President Jacques Chirac has exploited public fears in his rivalry with the Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin.
Against his wishes, Mr Jospin is expected to declare a temporary but total moratorium on the use of meat-and-bone meal in animal feed today. An opinion poll published by the Journal du Dimanche showed that 79 per cent of French people want an immediate ban. Last week, Mr Chirac made a surprise appearance on lunchtime television to demand a ban, as well as systematic testing of all beef carcasses for BSE.
Mr Jospin had wanted to wait for an advisory opinion by the food security agency AFSSA before taking his decision, but Mr Chirac backed him into a corner. The two men clashed publicly in the presence of the German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, at a press conference closing the Franco-German summit in Vittel last week. The destruction of French meat-and-bone meal stocks would cost an estimated £600 million and take years to complete. Although France is now a leader in BSE testing, it does not physically have the capacity to test every carcass.
Mr Chirac's popularity has shot up because of what the government considers his unrealistic and meddling stand on BSE. And Mr Jospin's staff accuses the President of creating panic with his television appearance. Food scares over the past month have included the recall of 23 tonnes of spoiled duck thighs and two tonnes of sausage meat. Two weeks ago, the Carrefour supermarket chain announced that it was withdrawing one tonne of beef that came from a suspect herd.
In the meantime, the government banned the use of cow intestines for making andouille sausage and announced it was studying the safety of rib steak. On Friday, authorities banned veal sweetbread - the thymus gland of the calf. These three dishes form a substantial part of the French diet, and the response has been a mass flight from beef consumption. In an attempt to win votes in next March's municipal elections, mayors across France have banned beef in school canteens. Ireland, which exports 50,000 tonnes of beef to France each year, is likely to be affected.
The use of meat-and-bone meal in ruminant animal feed has been banned by the EU since 1990, but it is still allowed for poultry and pigs. In Ireland's six animal feed plants, production of ruminant feed is totally separated from that of poultry and pig feed, to avoid cross-contamination. But in France, where there are nearly 300 plants, it is feared that the use of the same equipment has resulted in residual meat-and-bone meal being mixed into cattle feed.
France has one of the most extensive BSE testing programmes. The EU Commissioner for food safety, Mr David Byrne, has supported the French government's approach, saying France is paying the price for doing more tests - and hence identifying a higher number of cases.
