EC places moratorium on UK desinewed meat production
The European Commission (EC) has required the UK to reclassify the process by which a very small part of its meat processing industry removes meat from animal bones. Therefore, according to the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), the EC has asked that a moratorium be placed on the production of desinewed meat from cattle, sheep and goats. Desinewed meat (also known as mechanically separated meat or MSM) is produced using a low-pressure technique to remove meat from animal bones. The resultant product looks like minced meat, is currently a meat preparation and is regarded as meat, according to FSA.
Desinewed meat has been manufactured in the UK since the mid-1990s, and has been exported to other EU countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. FSA says there is no evidence of any risk to human health from eating meat produced by the low-pressure desinewing process, and further adds the product is as safe as any other meat product. FSA stated the EC does not consider the product to be an identified health issue.