Brussels, 18/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - Upon request from the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published two opinions on BSE controls (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in the EU15. The BIOHAZ biological hazards group suggests that if the tests on slaughtered cattle are carried out on cattle aged 36 or 48 months rather than 30 month, then less that a single case of BSE would be missed every year, in others words less than one infected animal would go undetected. For 'at risk' cattle, the panel suggests that if the age when the test is carried out is increased from 24 to 48 months, then likewise, less than one case would be missed each year. In the event of a new outbreak of BSE, the group suggests restricting the age of at-risk cattle to 48 months and testing for BSE at 24 months. The panel expressed doubts about he ability of current tests to provide reliable information on atypical cases of BSE, noting that moving from BSE testing at 24 or 30 months to 60 or 84 months would not have a major impact on the number of atypical cases of BSE discovered because no such case has yet been discovered before 96 months. Since 1994, the EU has been implementing measure to protect the life of humans and animals from mad cow disease. (A.D. transl fl)