Significant consumption of British beef in Ireland before March 1996 means cases of newvariant CJD (nvCJD), the human form of BSE, are likely to occur here, according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) chief executive, Dr Patrick Wall.
Most imported beef came in as carcasses to be boned and was shipped out again. But between 2,000 and 3,000 tonnes a year of British burgers and pies were sold on the Irish market.
"This latter material would have contained poorer-quality meat, possibly containing mechanically recovered meat, and is likely to have contained nervous tissue, containing the BSE agent," Dr Wall told the Irish Farmers' Association annual meeting yesterday.
He added: "Never mind infectious material arising from Irish cattle, the Irish population has consumed an amount of BSE material from British cattle, and it is likely that we may see an nvCJD case in Ireland."
Once a case arose, the public would not distinguish the fact that illnesses resulting from beef consumption may be related to meat eaten five to 10 years ago, he said. "They will want to know how we can assure them that the beef they are eating now is not infected with BSE."
"If people are worried they will stop eating beef. So the IFA should put pressure on the Department of Agriculture to get the National Beef Assurance Scheme in place. This would ensure consumers can be satisfied as to the source of meat they buy and know it comes from BSE-free herds.
"If we wait until the first nvCJD case occurs, then the boat will have been missed. When it happens, we want to be able to say, `Look, we have a quality assurance scheme in place,' " he said.
The demise of the British beef industry had occurred, yet it was still not known how many people were going to be affected by the disease. "So far there have been 24 cases in Britain. With an incubation period of possibly up to 20 years, it will be a long time before the final chapter on the BSE/CJD story can be written."
Food safety had become a trade issue, Dr Wall said. Irish farmers could not afford food scares or outbreaks of food poisoning linked to Irish food. "One substandard abattoir or dodgy exporter can destroy an entire industry. It is in all our interests to work together to ensure best practices are observed."
There had been a dramatic improvement in levels of antibiotic residues in Irish pork from a point in 1996 when an EU survey found Ireland to be "the poorest performer" with 17 per cent of samples above permitted levels. But the good news had to be spread.
The public often felt food should be sterile, but farms and abattoirs were not operating theatres. A proportion of raw meat and poultry had germs. "They should not be given an opportunity to multiply or to transfer on to other foods. They are killed by effective cooking."
The IFA had a large role in educating its members on reducing infection on livestock, while there was also a need to improve practices in abattoirs, including updating of inspection procedures.
The association's president, Mr Tom Parlon, said Irish farmers had nothing to hide. They had the best raw materials and production systems. His organisation looked forward to working with the FSAI to ensure food safety.
