QMS Comment on BSE Case

Quality Meat Scotland Chair, Kate Rowell, also a farmer and qualified vet, said: “The identification of this isolated case, after such a long period without any confirmed cases in Scotland, offers reassurance that the official prevention response plan and surveillance systems in place are working effectively. “There are no human health implications and we are strongly urging the media to report this single case responsibly and accurately to avoid any unjustified concern from the public. “The reality is that sporadic cases, such as the one confirmed this week, do occur and have also been reported in other countries. The Scottish red meat industry has built a global reputation for the quality of its beef and we developed this with Controlled Risk (CR) status until 2017 when that changed to Negligible Risk (NR) status. Accordingly, we do not anticipate that the return to CR status, the same status as exists in England and Wales, will have any serious impact on export market growth.”