BSE controls final report, 20 December 2000, section 1, Introduction
1.In March 2000, as part of the Action Plan for Farming, the soon-to-be-established Food Standards Agency (FSA) was asked by the Prime Minister to review the current measures in place to protect the public against the risks associated with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in relation to the food chain. The terms of reference for the review are set out in Annex A.
2.The Agency, which was established on 1 April 2000, is guided by three core values:
- Putting the consumer first
- Being open and accessible
- Being an independent voice.
With the Agency taking over responsibility for protection of the public from exposure to BSE through the food chain, it was appropriate for the FSA to take stock of the existing situation and consider how it might change in the future.
3.Our review was carried out by a small team from the FSA, supplemented by invited external experts in relevant areas. We also established a group of stakeholders who were consulted throughout the review at a series of meetings which were held in public. The public was allowed to contribute to the discussion at the stakeholder group meetings. All the papers discussed by the stakeholder group, as well as minutes of its meetings, background papers and correspondence received, were posted on a dedicated review website. Details of the membership of the FSA team are at Annex B and of the stakeholder group at Annex C. During the review we took scientific advice from the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC), whose acting chairman attended meetings of the FSA review team. The Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, the Chief Veterinary Officer for Great Britain and the Chief Medical Officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were also consulted. The Chairman and Deputy Chair of the FSA met with the Human BSE Foundation and we also held a wider public consultation meeting, to enable interested groups and individuals who were not involved in the stakeholder group to give us their views. Details of those who participated in our public meetings are given at Annex D. We are very grateful to all who contributed to our discussions either at these meetings or by correspondence. A summary of the issues they raised is included at Annex E. Some information on costs was provided by industry. We have not independently audited it.
4.We undertook the bulk of the review before the report of the BSE Inquiry was published. The Terms of Reference of that Inquiry related to the events that took place up to March 1996, whilst this review examined the current situation and future projections. We were, however, asked to take account of the Inquiry Report before completing our review. That report did not make specific recommendations about the controls which are the subject of our review. It did, however, list a number of lessons to be learned, some of which are relevant to this report. These have been taken into account in paragraphs 6, 31, 58 and 85. The Inquiry report noted the importance of trust and openness in dealing with matters such as the emergence of a new disease. As noted in paragraph 3 above, the process of our review has been carried out in as open a manner as possible, with involvement of stakeholders and the wider public at every stage. The Inquiry report also noted that openness requires recognition of uncertainty, where it exists. In keeping with that view, we have addressed issues of uncertainty in the paragraphs which follow before dealing with the more detailed issues covered by this review.