Beef on the Bone

Sutherland to Stand Trial

Sheriff James Paterson has ruled that the the Beef Bones Regulations 1997 case of the Procurator of the Procurator Fiscal vs James Sutherland is competant.

Sheriff Paterson's initial ruling, that the regulations were "manifestly absurd" was overturned in June by the High Court in Edinburgh.

On Thursday 5th November James Upton, advocate for Jim Sutherland, argueed that the grounds for the ban (including assisting in negotiations on having the export ban lifted) were irrelevent to food safety.

Mr Upton also argued that inadequate time had been given for consultation (5 days) and that that there had been no mention during consultation process of what would constitute preparation of beef (such as refrigeration and skin removal prior to de-boning).

Duncan MacNeill, the Procurator Fiscal for Selkirk and Peebles has argued that adequate consultation had been given, and that 'beef on bone' presented a risk to public health. (Her Majesty's Government Chief Medical Officer assessed the risk as a 5% chance of one person dying from beef on bone during 1998).

Now that Sheriff Paterson has ruled that the case is 'competent', a "Not Guilty" plea has been entered by Mr Sutherland and the trial has been set for January 1999.

Mr Sutherland has been granted leave to appeal.

1998-11-17
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