The deadly seriousness of BSE disease has been brought home once again as it was discovered in French, and for the first time, in German and Spanish cattle. This has led to hysterical consumer reaction in those countries and hurried decisions by their governments to ban certain animal feeds. Mr David Byrne, the Commissioner responsible for food safety, has had justifiably harsh words for them, arising from their long refusal to agree within the EU on such measures. The potential impact on demand for beef and the implications for one of Ireland's primary industries, have been underlined by the Government's decision to introduce a BSE test for all cattle over 30 months in an effort to assure consumers that the Irish product is safe.
That costly exercise is necessitated by scientific evidence that bone meal feed stuffs are responsible for the disease, whose human form is called variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease. The Government has already operated a strict herd slaughter policy, along with clinical testing in factories and the disposal of risk material. The additional measures to test all cattle for slaughter over 30 months old with a newly developed method, the Enfer test, will go a long way to assure consumers that Irish beef is BSE free. But to be certain of that, it must be assumed that current science has a satisfactory understanding of how the disease is transmitted. Since no such certainty applies, it can be seen that consumers will be guided by the most prudent protection policies. That explains Mr Byrne's angry response to national measures taken outside the framework of EU policies.
It also underlines the necessity of proceeding with the utmost care as policy is framed at EU and national levels. Policy must be science based, but it must also be open and transparent. Otherwise consumer confidence will not be restored. That will not serve the interests of farmers and other producers. Mr Byrne has developed a deserved reputation for level-headed and careful regulation in this highly sensitive area. The best guarantee that EU policy can respond effectively, is that such an approach is endorsed by member-states, rather than pursuing unilateral moves taken in haste.
Farmers' representatives have already pointed out how vulnerable the industry is to such collapses of demand, as cattle prices have already indicated. The Government's decision to introduce universal testing reinforces the idea that stringent controls can reassure consumers. But farming methods themselves have become so industrialised that farmers must not be surprised if each successive problem has an increasing impact on credibility. That too requires the most careful regulation to restore consumers' trust.
Scientists and industry spokesmen point out that the number of BSE cases in Ireland is tiny compared with the size of the national herd. Nonetheless, the increasing incidence of the disease is worrying, given the stringent controls applied over the last four years. The age of cattle is crucial, allowing a reliable test of the scientific theories about how the disease is transmitted. Were that picture to change, we could be in for a much more damaging crisis of confidence. This latest episode reinforces the case for the closest possible interaction of EU and national controls, based on strict scientific criteria.