A succession of food scares culminating in the BSE crisis has damaged consumer confidence in the safety of the food supply. Nowhere is that more obvious than the concern in Ireland about the burial of BSE-infected cattle.

BSE arose in the UK as a result of feeding meat and bone meal, the rendered remains of cattle, to cattle as a source of protein. The public was unaware that herbivores were being fed animal protein. BSE is believed to have arisen as a result of a mutation in one animal, and this was fed in the form of meat and bone meal to others.

These cattle, in turn, were also rendered and the infectious agent propagated. Irish cattle were probably affected when meat, bone meal and cattle were imported from the UK in the 1980s. This was incorporated into Irish cattle feed and cattle imported from the UK were rendered into meat and bone meal in Ireland.

A ban on the feeding of meat and bone meal to cattle was introduced in Ireland in 1990 to minimise the spread of BSE.

Britain has had almost 180,000 BSE cases in its 12 million cattle; Ireland has had 551 in a herd of eight million. Although the feeding of meat and bone meal to cattle was banned in Britain in 1989, the UK continued to export meat and bone meal within Europe and farther afield until 1996, when the link between BSE and the human disease, variant CJD (vCJD) was announced. This material would have introduced the infectious agent to herds in many countries.

However, as BSE was perceived to be a British problem, the degree of BSE surveillance and controls varied greatly. It is only recently that the EU imposed standardised controls across the Union, and the full extent of the problem outside the UK and Ireland is emerging.

PORTUGAL and Switzerland have identified more than 400 cases in their herds of one million and two million respectively. France is identifying increasing cases.

Although the Irish ban on the feeding of meat and bone meal to cattle was introduced in 1990, it is possible that, up to 1996, some feed could have been contaminated with pet food, poultry or pig feed containing meat and bone meal.

Irish BSE cases (104 to date in 2000) are older animals born before these stringent feed controls were applied. Ireland - albeit prompted by export trade considerations - was among the first EU states to introduce strict measures, and its controls match the best in Europe.

Having contained the problem in older cattle, we must now ensure these animals with BSE infectivity pose no risk to humans.

In infected animals the BSE agent is found primarily in the brain and spinal cord, and to a lesser degree in other tissues, all designated as "Specified Risk Material". Animals which never consumed meat and bone meal do not harbour the BSE agent. Nevertheless, as a safety precaution SRM is removed from all cattle at slaughter in Ireland. This material is taken to a plant where it is rendered and the resultant residues exported for disposal or incineration.

No plant is licensed to dispose of confirmed BSE-infected material in the Republic. In July last year Government scientists said arrangements for disposal, particularly burial of BSE-infected cattle, were unsatisfactory.

The latest solution - putting BSE carcasses in fridges - is not ideal. It still does not get rid of the material. As with clinical waste, it is not appropriate for it to be used for landfill or recycled. Exporting such waste is an Irish solution to an Irish problem and not sustainable.

The ultimate solution is thermal treatment with an incinerator shown to operate to the highest standards, as exists in many countries and within Irish industry. These are fully licensed and are not a source of pollution, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

In March 1996 the possible link between BSE in cattle and vCJD was announced, and 10 cases of vCJD in humans in the UK were confirmed. Since then a further 80 cases have been identified in the UK, two in France and one in the Republic - a woman who had previously lived in Britain.

Variant CJD is a slowly progressive, fatal neurological disease. Its incubation period is in excess of 10 years, so that people are currently falling ill as a result of eating meat in the 1980s or early 1990s.

There is no test to identify people incubating the disease. Estimates in the UK of those who may develop it vary from hundreds to thousands.

We must learn lessons from the BSE debacle. A key theme emerging from the UK BSE inquiry is lack of openness and transparency. There was a withholding of information from the public and protection of trade came before protection of public health.

Although BSE is the issue causing most concern to consumers, food poisoning with less exotic agents related to poor hygiene practices is what is causing illness in the Irish population. Raising consumer awareness so that higher standards are expected will force rapid improvements.

The Food Safety Authority has undertaken campaigns to raise awareness. It encourages consumers to vote with their feet and not to accept visibly poor hygiene practices. This work will be undertaken and developed further on an all-Ireland basis by the Food Safety Promotion Board, one of six bodies set up under the Belfast Agreement.

National policies are more often influenced by the opinions of the public, as expressed through the media, than by scientific evidence. There is a valuable lesson there.