Beef Bones Regulations 1997

The regulations were among 60 issued by the British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food before the end of 1997 to combat the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle.^[1] BSE is a neurodegenerative brain disease of cattle, transmissible by the consumption of contaminated brain or spinal tissues. It has been linked to variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans. BSE was first detected in the UK in November 1986 and measures were taken from 1988 to restrict contamination in the food chain such as through meat and bone meal (MBM). The European Union banned the use of all mammalian-derived MBM for feeding of ruminants in 1994. From 1996 restrictions on the sale of British beef were put in place by some countries.^[2]

The stated purpose of the regulations was "to protect public health and maintain confidence in beef and beef products".^[3] They were a statutory instrument (SI) made under the powers granted by the Food Safety Act 1990, applied across Great Britain and came into force on 16 December 1997.^[4][5] The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at the time the regulations were implemented was Jack Cunningham.^[6]

The regulations prohibited the sale of any beef on the bone (from animals aged 6 months or older) and restricted the use of beef bone material in food products for human consumption.^[4][5] They also banned the deboning of beef anywhere except in a recognised food processing premises and created a responsibility for the operator of such premises to ensure that deboning was carried out in such a manner as to prevent contamination of food stuffs. The regulations also specified how beef bones should be stored and required food producers to keep records pertaining to the origin of their beef. The ban on the sale of beef on the bone came into force immediately, and food producers were granted a three-month period to implement the other aspects of the regulations.^[5]

The regulations were imposed because of fears that previous practices risked contamination of foodstuffs by dorsal root ganglia, nerve tissue found close to the bone, and mechanically recovered meat.^[7][8] The measures were recommended by England's Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Kenneth Calman.^[9] The regulations made illegal the sale of previously accepted foodstuffs such as T-bone steaks, prime ribs and oxtail.^[1][9] The sale of soups and stocks derived from or flavoured by beef bones were also banned.^[9] At the time of the ban beef on the bone accounted for 5% of all British beef sales.^[3]

There were protests against the ban, which some consumers saw as an over-reaction to the risk of vCJD infection by a paternalistic government, and the National Farmers' Union of England and Wales criticised the measures.^[9][3] A march on Downing Street was held by butchers, consumers and meat industry personnel after which the prime minister Tony Blair was presented with a rib of beef.^[3] The regulations were criticised in the tabloid press and the Worshipful Company of Butchers held a six-course dinner to "say goodbye to the roast beef of Olde England" at which diners wore black armbands.^[3][10] The first prosecution under the regulations was rejected by Scottish Sheriff James Paterson at Selkirk's sheriff court on 21 April 1998,^[11][12] but on 26 June 1998, an appeals court instructed Paterson to rule on the case.^[13] Prince Charles was illegally served beef on the bone at a Newport hotel in 1999 but the proprietor escaped prosecution.^[9]