Tests to allow the remains of animals to be reintroduced into farm feed for the first time since the BSE crisis are being carried out by European scientists, The Times has learnt.

The EU is spending €1.7 million (£1.15 million) on research which would allow the remains of pigs and chickens to be used as fodder.

The practice was banned by the EU in 2000 after the spread of BSE, commonly known as “mad cow” disease. BSE was blamed for infecting hundreds of people with the incurable brain disease vCJD.

The move will shock consumers and scientists, many of whom were angered by the use of animal remains in feed.

The Government told The Times last night that it was aware of the proposals to “relax” the ban.

The proposal comes from the European Economic and Social Committee, a statutory advisory committee to the EU. It follows pressure from farmers and food manufacturers concerned at the high cost of disposing of carcasses.

A minute from the committee says that pig meal should be allowed for chickens and that chicken remains should be fed to pigs.

“The EESC suggests that the European Commission pursue and step up as swiftly as possible the studies currently under way which clearly show that the use of meat meal from nonruminants can be used in pig and poultry feed without posing any danger to human health,” it reads. Meat and bone meal comprises 50 per cent animal remains (the pieces stuck to the bones of the animal after the best cuts have been removed), 35 per cent ash, 10 per cent fat and a little water.

Scientists, including two institutes in Britain, have been asked to devise tests that can identify different kinds of meat meal in feed.

Hugh Pennington, a bacteriologist at Aberdeen University and an expert in BSE and vCJD, said that the proposals raised concerns for consumers and the Government.

“There needs to be a rigorous scentific assessment of any plans to reintroduce meat meal to pigs and chickens, which would have to be entirely independent of the EU.

“We will have to find out about the risks of influenza and salmonella being passed from pig to chicken, or vice versa. The biggest problem will be to win over public opinion," he said.

Legacy of a crisis
€1.7m: The amount of EC money being paid to devise tests for animal remains in feed
12: Scientific institutes across Europe, including two British laboratories, are involved in the research programme
7: Years since EU legislation banning the use of animal proteins in animal feed, was first introduced
183,000: BSE cases confirmed in the UK since the epidemic was first identified in 1986
160: Confirmed deaths from vCJD in Britain since the disease first emerged in 1990. Another five patients thought to have it are still alive

Source: EESC, Defra, Times Database

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