Scientific Documents

Opinion of the Scientific Panel on biological hazards (BIOHAZ) on the “Quantitative assessment of the residual BSE risk posed by di-calcium phosphate (DCP) and tri-calcium phosphate (TCP) from bovine bones used as an animal feed additive or as fertiliser”

Summary (18 KB)

Opinion (228 KB)

Summary

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Biohazards (BIOHAZ) panel was invited to assess the validity of the outcome of a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) of the residual BSE risk in di-calcium phosphate (DCP) and tri-calcium phosphate (TCP)from bovine bones, used as an animal feed additive or as fertiliser.

Given the outcome was considered valid, the previous SSC opinion “on the safety of di-calcium phosphate (DCP) and tri-calcium phosphate (TCP) from bovine bones, used as an animal feed additive or as fertiliser (submitted to the SSC at its meeting of 6-7 March 2003)” should be reviewed and an opinion should be given on how to interpret the results in order to make an estimation of the number of potential BSE cases expected per year in a population.

The BIOHAZ panel concluded that when a limit of less than 1 case per year is considered as negligible, no scenario of sourcing bovine bones derived phosphates from GBR III or GBR IV countries leads to an average residual BSE risk equivalent to less than 1 case of BSE per year in either adult dairy or beef cattle.

This appears to conflict with the previous wording in the SSC Opinion stating that the residual risk of di-calcium phosphate derived from bovine bones from GBR II, GBR III and GBR IV countries is negligible when the raw material for the production of bovine bone DCP is:

a) obtained from tissues from animals fit for human consumption with exclusion of specified risk materials including skull and vertebrae and avoidance of cross-contamination [with CNS] of these bones

b) submitted to a production process that has proven TSE infectivity reduction capacity