Lamb carcase splitting costing producers millions

Lamb carcase splitting is costing producers in Great Britain between £23 million and £34 million a year according to new economic analysis carried out by the NFU and AHDB Red Meat Market Intelligence.

The analysis of the estimated cost to the industry was carried out in response to the NFU’s ongoing concerns about the financial implications of current sheep TSE regulations, which require the removal of the spinal cord in all sheep aged over 12 months, and the effect the regulations are having on the competitiveness of the UK sheep sector.

NFU livestock board chairman Alistair Mackintosh described the cost as "unacceptable" and said the NFU was committed to finding solutions to the issue and would be talking again to the Food Standards Agency about the situation.

"We strongly believe that this regulation is no longer based on sound science and is costing the industry millions of pounds a year. The UK government and the FSA need to look at this again and work with us to amend the rules so they are based on risk and proportionality," he said.

"What I find particularly frustrating is that we are not presently operating on a level playing field with Europe where a number of member states remove the spinal cord by other means, such as suction, which do not devalue the carcase. The NFU has lobbied hard and consistently on this issue and we are committed to keeping up the pressure until common sense prevails.

"Splitting the carcase devalues it and an alternative must be found. We will be talking to the FSA about trying to find a new proportionate, risk-based, approach to the removal of Specific Risk Material. This regulation was introduced to protect public health and I fully accept that this must remain a priority. But the original risk analysis which it was based on is now outdated and must be re-examined as a matter of urgency."