No Ban on Fishmeal in Feed

February 10, 1999

> Headline: EU says not planning ban on fishmeal in feed

> Wire Service: RTw (Reuters World Report)

> Date: Wed, Feb 10, 1999

>

> The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in

> whole

> or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.

>

> BRUSSELS, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The European Commission has said the

> practice of feeding fishmeal to animals does not threaten animal or human

> health and has assured producers it will not ban their product in feed, EU

> officials said on Wednesday.

> The Commission was considering banning the use of fishmeal in animal

> feedstuffs in the aftermath of the mad cow crisis amid suggestions that

> cows and sheep did not need to eat animal protein because they were

> herbivores.

> But in a letter to the British-based International Fishmeal and Oil

> Manufacturers Association, obtained by Reuters, the Commission said it had

> found no grounds for imposing a ban.

> " (The Commission) has at present no sanitary reasons to justify such

> a ban..and has currently not envisaged any proposal banning fishmeal as a

> feed material in ruminant diets, " the EU's most senior farm civil servant,

> Guy Legras, wrote in his letter.

> The Commission published a consultation paper in 1997 seeking views

> on whether meat and bone meal should be banned after scientists linked BSE

> (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) to feeding animal parts to cattle.

> Fishmeal producers have since then been concerned that the

> Commission's new " cautionary approach " to animal and human health might

> lead to their product being banned.

> But the Commission had not even come close to proposing a ban,

> according to EU officials.

> " We haven't even banned meat and bone meal so why on earth would we

> be looking to ban fishmeal? " one official said.

> Fishmeal producers and suppliers welcomed the Commission's assurances

> but said the mere prospect of a ban had damaged the industry.

> The Oil World newsletter on Tuesday forecast world output of fishmeal

> could recover to 5.4 million tonnes in 1998-99 (October-September) from a

> low of 4.7 million in 1997-98.

> Fishmeal is mostly a South American product though some is also

> produced in Scandinavia.

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