SCIENTISTS must take part of the blame for delays and mistakes in tackling
the largest food scare in modern British history, says the report of the BSE
Inquiry, chaired by the senior judge Lord Phillips. Their generally uncritical
acceptance that BSE could not spread to humans meant early reassurances were
taken as gospel, the report states.
This helped lull the public into accepting that beef was safe to eat, and
blinded scientists to crucial warning signs as new data on BSE emerged.
It also bred complacency in British slaughterhouses, which for years
undermined measures to prevent BSE-contaminated meat entering the…
