Britain could be hit by another BSE-like crisis unless the Government introduces fundamental reforms to policy-making, a leading professor warned today.

Professor Hugh Pennington, a microbiology expert, said the Government had not yet learned the lessons from the BSE epidemic.

In a speech yesterday at BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme Awards, Prof Pennington argued that a major weakness highlighted in the BSE inquiry - a lack of understanding by Government departments of what was going on on the ground - had been repeated in the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

He also criticised the lack of openness surrounding the selection of scientific committees that offer expert advice to the Government.

"It would be nice to know what criteria are used to choose scientists for these committees," he said.

"Nobody knows when the next new food-borne bugs will arrive, but it is certain that they are evolving right now.

"I fear that, without fundamental reform in the way policy makers get and use scientific advice, there will be big trouble ahead."