A week that shook the meat industry: the effects on the UK beef industry of the BSE crisis

The BSE crisis was triggered on 20 March 1996 by the statement from the Secretary of State for Health concerning the possible link between BSE and new variant CJD. Begins by discussing the state of the UK beef industry and British beef market prior to the announcement. Then looks in detail at the catastrophic effects that the crisis had on the industry in the following six months to October 1996. Clearly the beef crisis is not over but the industry has now entered a period of recovery. The way ahead for the industry will involve fundamental re‐engineering and rationalization accompanied by intensive marketing activity, as it tries to rebuild the domestic market and eventually to re‐ establish export markets. The domestic market for beef has been much more resilient than any dared hope but the industry faces a major challenge in restoring the high consumer confidence that beef once had. This reconstruction is now under way. Systems of traceability, monitoring, quality control and assurance are being set up to bring the competitive advantage needed to win back lost export markets and enable the industry to face the rigours of the world marketplace.