Inspection of beef sent to Britain to be increased

Inspections of Irish beef exported to Britain are to be increased after small sections of spinal cord were discovered in a number of Irish beef forequarters at a British cutting plant, the Agriculture Minister, Mr Nick Brown, said last night.

The Department of Agriculture confirmed the discovery and said it represented an "isolated incident".

"The veterinary services have taken the matter up with the relevant cutting plant," he said.

"We'll be endeavouring to ensure that there's absolutely no recurrence."

Under the specified risk material (SRM) controls introduced to combat BSE, or "mad cow disease", spinal cord must be removed in the slaughterhouse.

The Irish Meat Association had been warned that any failure to implement the SRM controls would result in the withdrawal of the supplementary certification for export to the UK.

The Department spokesman expressed confidence that the rules and regulations were being adhered to.

"We want to remember that our incidence [of BSE] is infinitesimal compared to the UK. Trade continues. That's the critical issue," he said.

An IFA spokesman said the rules on the cutting of beef here were tightly implemented. "This would be seen as a small incident," he said.