London - Britain is ignoring tests which could identify BSE-infected beef cattle after slaughter, according to a report in today's Independent newspaper. The report comes a day after British beef farmers celebrated the lifting of a 31/2-year ban on beef exports.
The report also says the EU does not require beef for export to Europe to undergo three clinical tests approved by the European Commission. These would identity BSE-infected cattle which had been slaughtered but which do not display the symptoms, it said.
Three companies, Enfer from Ireland, Prionics from Switzerland and CEA from France, scored 100 per cent results in tests to distinguish between infected and healthy cattle in clinical trials three months ago, it reported.
But a government spokesman told the paper they "need to look at them carefully before deciding how to use them."
