§ Mrs. PeacockTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps his Department is taking to investigate the effects of the apple crop spray known as Alar; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RyderThe independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides has advised Ministers responsible for the control of pesticides that there should be no changes to the approval of the pesticide, Daminozide. At its meeting on 20 April the advisory committee considered the information which had been submitted to the American authorities, and concluded that the use of Daminozide did not pose a health risk to consumers.
Ministers are grateful for the committee's willingness to consider the available data on a basis of such urgency, and have accepted the advice.
Monitoring will be continued to assess the occurrence of residues in apples and apple products sold in the United Kingdom.