Health || Portugal’s largest environmental association has sounded the alert this week over risks that Mad Cow disease could be on its way back into the nation’s food chain.
At issue, claims Quercus, is the “far from controlled” management of animal by-products.
Carcasses, entrails and animal remains not used for direct sale to consumers are being stored and transported in poor conditions, and can end up being sold on to companies that put them into animal feed.
If this happens there is the risk of the propagation of diseases to the animals that eat them, warns Quercus’ Pedro Carteiro – and this can lead on to risks to public health.
“There are many illegalities at work,” Carteiro explained. The problem is compounded by the fact that there aren’t enough public health inspectors on the ground.
What is needed is a concerted swoop on shopping centres, butchers, slaughter houses and animal feed producers, he said – adding that Quercus had already quizzed 919 malls on how they “managed” animal by-products and received answers from “less than 5%”.
Meantime, ASAE, the food safety and hygiene authority, has taken as many as 20 processes out against companies ‘managing animal by-products’.
In the case of one of the latest – on a transport company in Pero Negro, Sobral de Monte – the business has been closed down due to the “disgusting smell” and discovery of animals’ entrails left in the open air”.
ASAE’s raid was prompted by local complaints – and this is Quercus’ main worry, explained Carteiro. Unless people become aware of the illegalities – literally by ‘smelling’ them – they could pass unnoticed.
Questioned by reporters this week, Portugal’s health director Francisco George confirmed that Mad Cow disease (full name: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) has not been eradicated although there are “few cases”. The last case of BSE in humans in Portugal was reported in 2009.
