Lamb faces the chop in latest meat scare

Public confidence in lamb as well as beef took a hammering yesterday after EU scientists recommended a Europe-wide ban on some lamb on the bone. Katherine Butler in Brussels says it could mean the end of sales of certain cuts.

European scientists want tough restrictions on the sale of lamb on the bone, it emerged yesterday. The committee dealt a new blow to the meat industry, reeling from the recent ban of beef on the bone. It recommended a ban on sales of lamb on the bone from animals over 12 months old.

But, crucially for the British market, and the 90,000 sheep farmers in the UK, the scientists said that in countries where the incidence of BSE or scrapie in flocks is particularly high, "it may be appropriate" to ban meat on the bone from animals as young as six months.

The panel of scientists which advises Brussels on food safety and which is independent of European governments, said rack of lamb, and lamb chops or cutlets should be banned. It recommended that a ban on cattle sheep and goat brains and offal, due to come into force throughout the EU early next year, should be extended to cover vertebral column and dorsal root ganglia of all three species. The warning adds to consumer confusion and alarm by raising questions for the first time over the safety of lamb and mutton sold on the bone, particularly from animals older than 12 months old.

European Commission officials will have to conduct thorough research on the risks from lamb but they stressed that factors highlighted by the scientists would have to be weighed against the consequences of a ban, such as the impact on trade, the cost and the problem of disposal of carcasses. "The Commission may decide that a ban would be too drastic when set against the risks, but for the moment we cannot say," said a spokesman. He added that the coming weeks and months would be spent trying to establish a "complete picture" of the risks, taking account of the age, species and geographical origin of animals.

Either way, the damage to consumer confidence is likely to be extensive. Scrapie in sheep was not previously believed to pose a threat to human health but is thought to be much more prevalent in European flocks than governments have officially admitted. Its similarity to BSE prompted the Commission's initial decision to include sheep offal in its crackdown on "specified risk material".