Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make further amendments to the Specified Risk Material Regulations 1997 (S.I. 1997/2965, as already amended) in so far as they extend to England. The Specified Risk Material Regulations 1997 (“the principal Regulations”) extend to Great Britain as a whole.

These Regulations reflect the provisions of Annex XIA to Regulation (EC) No. 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (OJ No. L147, 31.5.2001, p.1). That Annex imposes transitional measures with regard to the removal of specified risk material and was inserted into Regulation (EC) No. 999/2001 by Article 3 of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1326/2001 (OJ No. L177, 30.6.2001, p.60).

The substantive amendments made by these Regulations to the principal Regulations are as follows—

(a)

in the light of the transitional measures referred to above—

(i)

regulation 3 of the principal Regulations (which defines “specified sheep and goat material”) is amended to exclude from the scope of the definition material derived from sheep and goats born, continuously reared and slaughtered in certain third countries (regulation 2(4) and (5)),

(ii)

regulation 4 of the principal Regulations (which defines “specified bovine material”) is substantially revised so that, in particular, material derived from bovine animals born, continuously reared and slaughtered in certain third countries is now outside the scope of the definition (regulation 2(6) to (8)),

(iii)

regulation 8 of the principal Regulations (prohibition applying to the vertebral column of ruminant animals) is replaced with a provision prohibiting the use of bovine, ovine and caprine bones in the production of mechanically recovered meat (regulation 2(10)) and regulation 9 (registration of premises on which meat is recovered by mechanical means from ruminant animals) is revoked (regulation 2(11)), and

(iv)

a new regulation, 15A, dealing with the treatment of imported carcases containing vertebral column which is specified bovine material, is inserted into the principal Regulations (regulation 2(12)); and

(b)

in view of the amendment made to regulation 26 of the principal Regulations by the Food Standards Act 1999 (Transitional and Consequential Provisions and Savings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/656), that regulation is further amended to enable the Food Standards Agency or the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to give directions relating to the disposal of specified risk material (regulation 2(13) and (14)).

These Regulations also make consequential amendments to the principal Regulations in the light of certain of the substantive amendments referred to above and the enactment of the Food Standards Act 1999 (1999 c. 28) (regulation 2(2), (3) and (9)).

A regulatory impact assessment, which includes a compliance cost assessment of the effect that these Regulations are likely to have on business costs, has been prepared and placed in the Library of each House of Parliament. Copies may be obtained from the BSE Division of the Food Standards Agency, Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London WC2B 6NH.