BSE row between Walsh and Food Safety chief

Documents exclusively secured by irishhealth.com have revealed a furious row between the boss of the Food Safety Authority, and the Minister for Agriculture, Joe Walsh, over the BSE crisis.

In a bruising letter of complaint, the Minister for Agriculture has attacked the head of the FSAI, Dr Patrick Wall, who said the public was misled by the Department of Agriculture during the outbreak of BSE.

In an interview on RTE in January, Dr Wall commented on the introduction of a test or destruction scheme for the beef sector, whereby all cattle over 30 months had to be tested for BSE or offered for purchase and destruction by the Department.

At issue is whether this was being publicly spun as a BSE control measure, when it was in fact a move to help out the market.

Responding to the Minister’s claims, the FSAI Board said that Dr Wall had not made such allegations, that it had absolute confidence in him and that a public statement on the matter would not be helpful, either to the Authority or the Department of Agriculture.

There have been 672 cases of BSE in Ireland to date – 92 so far this year.