Written question asked by David Drew (Labour) on Wednesday, 18 October 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 20 October 2006. It was answered by Caroline Flint (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 November 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Tuberculosis

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the risk of contracting bovine tuberculosis from unpasteurised milk.

Answer: All dairy herds which supply raw drinking milk are tested annually for bovine tuberculosis (TB). Milk from herds which have lost their officially tuberculosis free (OTF) status can only be sold for human consumption if it is pasteurised. Producers of raw milk cheese or other raw milk products are advised to source their milk from herds which are tested annually for evidence of TB infection. In cases where a herd loses its OTF status the local authority will undertake a risk assessment on any products which were made recently.The Food Standards Agency considers that public health is adequately protected by these measures.

Secondary information