§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the tonnage of beef found to contain clenbuterol over the last 12 months and its country or region of origin.
§ Mr. SoamesUnder the Ministry's imported meat monitoring programme and retail animal products survey, 214 samples of bovine liver, muscle and kidney have been taken since June 1991 and analysed for residues of clenbuterol. Four samples from the Republic of Ireland proved positive. Details of the tonnages involved are not available. This surveillance programme focuses on produce from countries in which clenbuterol misuse is known to have occurred and therefore these results do not reflect the general incidence of clenbuterol residues in imported bovine meat.
In Great Britain, testing by the state veterinary service for clenbuterol residues in animals and carcases on farm and at slaughterhouses has been stepped up, but no evidence of misuse has been detected.