§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to fund research into the health effects of GM animal feeds. [127052]
§ Ms Stuart[holding answer 29 June 2000]: I am informed by the Food Standards Agency that all genetically modified animal feed has been rigorously assessed by United Kingdom and European Union experts for possible effects on the health of consumers of the resulting animal products. Research to date has concentrated on the effects of processing on animal feed materials and the ability of DNA to survive processing and passage through an animal's gut. No incidental ill-effects have been detected in countries where GM crops have been grown and they and their by-products have been fed to animals for a number of years.
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§ Ms Stuart[holding answer 29 June 2000]: Secondments and attachments are part of the interchange initiative which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations. Before an interchange can occur all parties must be satisfied that no conflict of interest arises.
Details of secondments from the private sector commencing in the years shown are set out in the tables.
The agency is funding a study to investigate whether, and under what circumstances, antibiotic resistance marker genes from GM feed materials might transfer into the genomes of gut bacteria in the buccal cavities and gastro-intestinal tracts of ruminant animals.