18 Surface contamination of bovine
carcases
| (34298)
14571/12
COM(12) 578
| Draft Council Regulation concerning the use of lactic acid to reduce microbiological surface contamination on bovine carcases
|
| Legal base | Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 (see para 18.1 below)
|
| Document originated | 3 October 2012
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| Deposited in Parliament | 5 October 2012
|
| Department | Food Standards Agency
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 21 October 2012
|
| Previous Committee Report | None, but see footnote
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| Discussion in Council | 19-20 November 2012
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
|
BACKGROUND
18.1 In 2004, the EU adopted a number of measures aimed at
improved food hygiene standards. One of these — Regulation
(EC) No. 853/2004[76]
— provides that substances other than potable water cannot
be used to remove surface contamination from foods of animal origin,
unless their use for that purpose has been approved. The Regulation
also provides for such approval to be given by the Commission,
subject to any proposal to that effect receiving the necessary
majority in the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal
Health: where such a majority is not forthcoming, the proposal
has to be submitted to the Council, which then has two months
to give its position, following which the European Parliament
will have an additional two months. In the absence of an opinion
from the Council, the Commission may adopt the measure, provided
the European Parliament does not object within four months.
THE CURRENT
PROPOSAL
18.2 The present document comprises a draft Regulation approving
the use of lactic acid to remove surface contamination from bovine
carcases, and it follows a request to that effect from the United
States Department of Agriculture. In putting the proposal forward,
the Commission notes the opinion of the European Food Safety Authority
(EFSA) that the use of lactic acid for this purpose raises no
safety concerns, so long as the substance used complies with EU
specifications for food additives, that it provides a significant
reduction in microbiological contamination, and that it is unlikely
to contribute to microbial resistance. In addition, the proposal
specifies that the use of lactic acid for this purpose should
be confined to carcases at a slaughterhouse, and integrated into
good hygienic practices and systems based on HACCP[77]
principles, and it stresses that it should in no way be considered
as a substitution for good hygienic slaughtering practices and
operating procedures. However, when the proposal was put to the
Standing Committee on 21 September 2012, it produced "no
opinion", with neither a qualified majority in favour or
against its adoption. It has therefore been submitted to the
Council under the procedure outlined above.
THE GOVERNMENT'S
VIEW
18.3 In her Explanatory Memorandum of 21 October 2012, the
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health (Anna
Soubry) points out that food-borne disease is a major cause of
illness in the UK, and imposes a significant burden on patients,
healthcare services and the economy, with the main food types
associated with it including red meat and poultry meat. She says
that hygienic processing alone is not always able to reduce significantly
the hazard of microbial contamination on meat carcases, and that
the use of lactic acid as a rinse (spray or mist) in beef slaughterhouses
has been demonstrated to be safe and effective in reducing pathogens
such as Salmonella and E.coli which may be present
on carcases. She concludes that, if approved in Europe, the use
of lactic acid could be an effective way, integrated into good
hygienic practices and HACCP-based systems, of reducing microbial
surface contamination further and improving public health.
18.4 The Minister adds that the Board of the Food Standards
Agency (FSA) considered the draft proposal at its meeting on 24
January 2012, and a further revision on 11 July 2012. It agreed
that the use of lactic acid
in raw beef production was another possible way for businesses
to reduce food-borne pathogens and as such should be integrated
into an operator's food safety management system based on HACCP
principles, and it also took the view that their use should not
undermine the continuous application of good hygiene practices.
The Board therefore advised Health Ministers that the UK should
support the Commission proposal, and Ministers had agreed this
course of action.
18.5 At the same time, the Minister recognises
that the use of lactic acid rinses on beef carcases is politically
sensitive, due to the consumer issues surrounding its use, and
the wider trade implications stemming from its widespread use
by some of the world's major trading countries. She notes that
an FSA consultation of 85 organisations indicated that the opinions
of UK interested parties are mixed, with industry stakeholders
being generally not opposed, but expressing concern that authorisation
may lead to a drop in hygiene standards and raise issues relating
to EU/US trade, whilst consumer groups were concerned about issues
relating to labelling, recognising that some consumers may not
want to eat meat treated this way.
18.6 The Minister also says that the Commission
is keen to secure support for the proposal, and that, although
it has worked hard to focus reluctant Member States on the firm
evidence base provided by the EFSA, some remain cautious, and
are blocking progress (with some being against the proposal in
principle, on the grounds that it may lead to a drop in hygiene
standards, or because there is not a mandatory requirement for
labelling). She comments that the UK position is that labelling
of products treated with this substance is not appropriate, and
would give rise to enforcement issues, and she notes that the
proposal clearly states that the lactic acid solution can only
be applied to carcases that are free of visible faecal contamination,
thus ensuring that the treatment is not used to clean 'dirty'
meat, and puts the responsibility of ensuring that carcases are
free of any contamination on the food business operator, as is
already required by the Food Hygiene Regulations.
18.7 Finally, the Minister notes that the United
States, where this treatment is permitted, is taking a keen interest
in the proposal, and considers the continued unwillingness of
Member States to support it to be a potential barrier to trade,
given that the treatment had received a positive opinion from
EFSA. She adds that this issue is significant to the growth and
trade agenda, as the US administration views it as a test case
for the EU's ability to act in good faith on perceived trade barriers,
as well as adopting a science based approach to food safety standards.
In particular, she suggests that the outcome may have a bearing
on the US agreeing to engage in negotiations on a proposed EU-US
Free Trade Agreement, which the Prime Minister has made clear
is a number one trade priority, and that an EU-US trade deal could
be a potential game-changer within international trade and the
global economy. The UK Government is therefore fully supportive
of the opening of negotiations over an EU-US trade agreement,
and this also has support from all EU Member States.
CONCLUSION
18.8 This proposal raises many issues which are
similar to those which our predecessors drew to the attention
of the House in October 2008 on a proposal[78]
to permit the use of four antimicrobial agents to remove surface
contamination from poultry carcases, and, given the support it
has received from the European Food Safety Authority and the UK's
own Food Standards Agency, we would probably not have regarded
those issues on their own as justifying a substantive Report in
this case. However, we have also noted that the approach adopted
by the EU on the current proposal would have a bearing on the
proposed EU-US Free Trade Agreement, and, although we are content
to clear the document, we think it right to draw this consideration
to the attention of the House.
76 OJ No. L.139, 30.4.04, p.55. Back
77
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. Back
78
(30113) 15214/08: see HC 19-i (2008-09), chapter 18 (10 October
2008). Back
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