Beef Bones Regulations 1997

Beef Bones Regulations 1997

The Beef Bones Regulations 1997 were a statutory instrument of the British government that limited the sale of beef on the bone. The regulations were implemented as a response to the United Kingdom BSE outbreak over fears that variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans might be caused by the consumption of dorsal root ganglia. Prince Charles was illegally served at the Newport hotel in June 1999 but the proprietor escaped prosecution. The restrictions on sales were lifted in December 1999 and the regulations as a whole were revoked in April 2008.

About Beef Bones Regulations 1997 in brief

Summary Beef Bones Regulations 1997The Beef Bones Regulations 1997 were a statutory instrument of the British government that limited the sale of beef on the bone. The regulations were implemented as a response to the United Kingdom BSE outbreak over fears that variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans might be caused by the consumption of dorsal root ganglia. The restrictions on sales were lifted in December 1999 and the regulations as a whole were revoked in April 2008. The first prosecution under the regulations was rejected by Scottish Sheriff James Paterson at Selkirk’s sheriff court on 21 April 1998. Prince Charles was illegally served at the Newport hotel in June 1999 but the proprietor escaped prosecution.

In November 1999 the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Nick Brown announced that the regulations would be relaxed to permit the sale. The relaxation was made by separate statutory instruments made by all four countries of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The ban on the sale came into force immediately, and food producers were granted a three-month period to implement the other aspects of the regulations. At the time of the ban beef on the bone accounted for 5% of all British beef sales. There were protests against the ban, which some consumers saw as an over-reaction to the risk of vCJD infection by a patriarchal government.