T-bone back on the menu as BSE ban is lifted

THE popular T-bone steak officially returned to butchers’ shops and hotel and restaurant menus yesterday following a decision by the European Union to lift a four-year ban imposed on it over BSE fears.

Sales of beef containing the backbone of animals aged over 12 months were banned in 2001 in many European countries to reduce the risk of transmitting the human equivalent of BSE. This low age limit effectively outlawed T-bone steaks.

EU veterinary experts agreed in Brussels last October to raise that limit to 24 months, following advice from the European Food Safety Authority.