Brussels, 28/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - A suspected case of BSE in a goat slaughtered in France in 2002, which was announced on 28 October 2004 by Community and French authorities (EUROPE of 30 October 2004) was confirmed on Friday by a panel of scientists appointed by the European Commission. In order to determine whether this is an isolated incident, the Commission will propose to the Member States' experts (standing committee on the food chain and animal health) on 2 and 3 February that the monitoring programme on scrapie in goats be reinforced, and BSE testing on goats be stepped up for at least 6 months (200,000 tests on healthy goats within the Union). The Commission also asked the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) to carry out a quantitative assessment of the risks, the results of which are expected in July. It has recommended to changes in purchasing and consumption habits of goat products, after the recent opinion of the EFSA that it is unlikely for goat's milk and derivative products (cheese and meat) to carry a risk of human infection, if the milk comes from healthy animals.