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This research project aims to estimate the reduction in theoretical risk to the consumer if sheep from scrapie-infected flocks were removed from the food chain.
There is concern that scrapie in sheep has the potential to mask the presence of BSE in this species.
<p>TSEs in sheep are known to affect a wide range of tissues. This coupled with the long history of scrapie in sheep suggests that the epidemic must be maintained by the spread of the disease from sheep to sheep, not just via consumption of contaminated feed.
<p>The report of the FSA core stakeholder group on BSE and sheep considered a number of measures that could be taken to reduce the theoretical risk from the consumption of sheep meat.
<p>This project is a risk analysis to determine the reduction in the risk to the consumer that would be achieved by eliminating from the food chain, all sheep in flocks with established scrapie infection.
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Find more about this project and other FSA food safety-related projects at the <a href="http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/" target="_blank">Food Standards Agency Research webpage</a>.