A British government inquiry into BSE concluded it was imprudent to delay the implementation of a ban on animal feed containing other animal by-products in the North, the Assembly has been told.
The Agriculture Minister told Assembly members that the recent Philips inquiry report concluded that the decision to implement the ban five months after it had been imposed in Britain "may have contributed slightly" to the 1,710 BSE cases recorded in the North between 1988 and 1996.
Nevertheless, Mrs Brid Rodgers said the inquiry concluded that the decision to delay the imposition of the ban in Northern Ireland was not unreasonable.
In a statement outlining the findings of the report affecting the North, Mrs Rodgers noted that the Philips inquiry had said it had been proper for the London government to take the lead in combating BSE.
It also found there was no evidence to suggest that the adoption of the same reassuring line relating to BSE as in Britain resulted in any laxity in the enforcement of the disease control measures in the North.
The inquiry had said that, while it might have been more prudent for the North to implement at the same time as Britain the compulsory requirement to notify the Department of Agriculture of cases of BSE, the five-month delay was reasonable in the circumstances and unlikely to have led to cases being missed.
In a joint statement with the Health and Public Safety Minister, Ms Bairbre de Brun, on the report, Mrs Rodgers also extended her sympathy to the family of a west Belfast man, Mr Maurice O'Callaghan, who died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), which has been linked to BSE.
Mrs Rodgers also acknowledged the impact of the disease on the farming community, saying 1,800 cases of BSE had been identified in the North since 1988.
This led to the slaughter of 2,300 animals and £1.6 million compensation.
The Health Minister told the Assembly the emergence of CJD was "a serious public health development, with terrible consequences for victims".
Ms de Brun said her department would be issuing guidance on how the health and personal social services could respond to the needs of CJD patients and their carers.
The Rev William McCrea (DUP) said the North had the lowest rate of BSE in all of Europe whereas cattle in the Republic had one of the highest.
As this was the case, he asked the Minister what steps were being taken to stop cows from the Republic entering the Northern food chain.
Mrs Rodgers said she did not have precise figures but said the North did not have the lowest rate of BSE in Europe and "as far as I am aware, the Republic of Ireland does not have the highest incidence in the EU".
In any case, she said, no cows over the age of 30 months would be imported.