Fears over the future of UK unpasteurised cheese production have deepened after Defra refused to change its controversial bovine TB testing procedure.
The gamma interferon blood test has been labelled unreliable by critics since its introduction into Britain in 2002, with manufacturers claiming it produces false positives for TB. That has led to a number of producers being forced to pasteurise their cheese, despite the fact that subsequent post mortems often identified incorrect diagnoses.
Criticism of the approach led to Defra launching a review of its gamma interferon testing policy for TB, but last week it concluded there was no evidence to support a change of approach in the testing regime. "The test itself is scientifically proven as being proficient at accurately identifying TB-infected cattle, many of which are missed by the skin test," it stated.
Defra's conclusion comes despite the government department admitting there was extensive industry concern over the high ratio of TB-positive animals identified by the gamma test compared with those identified by the skin test. "Some stakeholders contend that, in such cases, the gamma test is flawed," it conceded.
The report itself shows that under the most common testing conditions, only 17.4% of cows testing positive for TB following a gamma test were confirmed as TB positive by a post mortem.
Producers were concerned that Defra's refusal to change its stance could force unpasteurised specialists to switch production to pasteurised, leading to the loss of a popular niche in the market. "TB could eradicate unpasteurised cheese from this country," said Randolph Hodgson, chairman of the Specialist Cheesemakers Association.
There has been a 22% increase in the number of cattle slaughtered because of TB in the first three months of this year compared with the same three-month period last year, DairyCo data shows.
The gamma interferon blood test has been labelled unreliable by critics since its introduction into Britain in 2002, with manufacturers claiming it produces false positives for TB. That has led to a number of producers being forced to pasteurise their cheese, despite the fact that subsequent post mortems often identified incorrect diagnoses.
Criticism of the approach led to Defra launching a review of its gamma interferon testing policy for TB, but last week it concluded there was no evidence to support a change of approach in the testing regime. "The test itself is scientifically proven as being proficient at accurately identifying TB-infected cattle, many of which are missed by the skin test," it stated.
Defra's conclusion comes despite the government department admitting there was extensive industry concern over the high ratio of TB-positive animals identified by the gamma test compared with those identified by the skin test. "Some stakeholders contend that, in such cases, the gamma test is flawed," it conceded.
The report itself shows that under the most common testing conditions, only 17.4% of cows testing positive for TB following a gamma test were confirmed as TB positive by a post mortem.
Producers were concerned that Defra's refusal to change its stance could force unpasteurised specialists to switch production to pasteurised, leading to the loss of a popular niche in the market. "TB could eradicate unpasteurised cheese from this country," said Randolph Hodgson, chairman of the Specialist Cheesemakers Association.
There has been a 22% increase in the number of cattle slaughtered because of TB in the first three months of this year compared with the same three-month period last year, DairyCo data shows.
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