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Listen to this siteThursday 10 October 2002
Ref: 2002/0252
A report commissioned by the Agency into the historic uses of mechanically recovered meat (MRM) from cattle between 1980 and 1995 is published today. This work relates to a past, not current, food safety risk.
The report has had to draw on personal recollections as the practices took place up to twenty years ago and, as well as many changes in the structure of the industry since then, there were no legal requirements to retain documents from that period. As a result the report contains a considerable range of uncertainty in relation to the use of beef MRM. The study confirms previous estimates that a total of about 5000 tonnes of beef MRM was used annually.
The report was commissioned at the request of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) - an independent expert group that advises the Government on BSE and vCJD issues - to examine how, up to 1995, BSE may have got into food in the UK.
MRM is thought to be a source of BSE infectivity entering the human food chain before stricter BSE controls were introduced. Until it was banned in 1995, some beef MRM came from vertebral columns, which may have contained traces of spinal cord. Spinal cord could have contained high levels of BSE infectivity.
The findings may help SEAC scientists to better understand the exposure of people to BSE infected meat. However, it is not known what constitutes an infective dose nor is it clear what affects human susceptibility to the disease. SEAC will advise Government Health departments on whether any health implications can be identified from studying the report.
The study provides estimates of the likely age of the animals used to make MRM which, in turn, could be a possible indicator of infectivity. There would be a higher risk of infectivity being present in older animals (over 36 months) than in prime (younger) cattle. The source of bones going to produce MRM is estimated to have been in the proportion of 90:10 prime cattle to older cattle.
The study confirms previous estimates that a total of about 5000 tonnes of beef MRM was used annually, mostly in catering and retail economy foods such as burgers, frozen and dried mince, but not in burgers from major fast food outlets. Of the 5000 tonnes, it is estimated that 40% went into burgers and 40% into frozen mince (used in some institutions such as hospitals and schools) with the remaining element being exported or going into minor uses.
MRM is a product typically obtained by recovering residual raw meat from bones using a high pressure machine, after prime cuts have been removed. Until 1995 the use of bovine backbones to produce MRM was legal and there is no suggestion that any food company broke the law in using such MRM in its products between 1980 and 1995.
It was considered that the most effective way to obtain information on practices and operations up to 22 years ago was by face to face interview with identified representatives of organisations involved in meat production. Interviews involved operators at all stages of the production chain including; abattoir or slaughter house, meat cutting plants, MRM producers, meat brokers, producers of processed meat products, butchers, retailers and institutional users (some of whom have since ceased trading).
It is likely that beef MRM would have been used in most, if not all, product lines and brands associated with the categories identified in the report.
The main findings of the study were:
1. The Agency had discussions with the two relevant trade associations, the National Federation of Meat and Food Traders (NFMFT) and the British Meat Manufacturing Association (BMMA) who agreed to work with the Agency in order to gather as much information as possible. DNV Consulting was contracted to carry out the study.
2. The report detailed information in categories and included the number of people and organisations interviewed. A record was prepared of each interview, agreed with the interviewee and retained by DNV. It involved interviews with individuals about food produced up to 22 years ago. Some of the interviewees had left the companies concerned or had retired at the time of the interview. Some manufacturers, producers or butchers may have also ceased trading or changed ownership and records may not be available.
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