§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what is the maximum safe concentration of ethinyloestradiol in foods for human consumption. [60833]
§ Ms BlearsI have been asked to reply.
Ethinyloestradiol is a human drug that is available only on prescription. It is not authorised for use in animals and its presence in any concentration in food is unacceptable.
It has not been possible to identify a dietary concentration of ethinyloestradiol that is universally accepted as being safe for everyone, as a level of exposure that is without hormonal effects has not been found. In addition, ethinyloestradiol is a human carcinogen, but a threshold dose below which there is no increased risk of cancer for anyone has not been established.