§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to review the safety clearance or approval of pesticides containing (a) dieldrin, (b) aldicarb, (c) methyl isothiocyanate, (d) 2,4,5-T, (e) captan, (f) thiram, (g) dichlorvos, (h) aldrin, (i) triadimefon, (j) oxydemeton methyl, (k) captafol, (l) triazophos, (m) phosalone and (n) paraquat.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe safety position of pesticides is kept under continuous review.
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his Department has collected information on the volume of pesticide product or active ingredient used in any case or with respect to particular areas; and if he will publish such data.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe Pesticide Usage Survey Group collects data on pesticide usage crop by crop, and when a cycle is completed publishes a review of the situation in agriculture, horticulture and forestry together. The review for the period 1980–83 is now in preparation and will be available to hon. Members later this year. The data is presented in terms of area of crop and tonnes of pesticide sprayed, and by crop types.
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for which pesticides clearance has been withdrawn under the pesticides safety precautions scheme, wholly or mainly on grounds of the hazard they posed to human or animal health or safety or the environment.
§ Mr. MacGregorPesticides whose clearance has been withdrawn under the pesticides safety precaution scheme for safety reasons, since the inception of the scheme:
634W
Antu Inorganic fluorides Azobenzene Mercuric Chloride Cadmium compounds Methyl mercury Calcium arsenate Nitrofen Chlordecone Phenylmercury salioylate DDT Potassium arsenate Endrin Selenium compounds Ethylene dibromide Sodium arsenite Hexachlorobenzene 1,1, 2,2—tetracholorethane
§ Mr. MacGregorThe table shows the information requested:
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to the answer of 12 February, Official Report, column 108, in which of the past 10 years for which records are available his Department assesses pesticide usage to have been the minimum consistent with efficient food production.
§ Mr. MacGregorIt has been the Government's policy to impose strict safety standards on the use of pesticides since the establishment of the Advisory Committee for Pesticides in 1955. Ministers have been publishing advice to farmers and growers on the efficacy of pesticides under the agricultural chemicals approved scheme since 1961, with the intention that only the most effective pesticides for a particular operation should be employed. This policy was made more explicit in 1983 with the publication of the Government's response to the Seventh Report of the Royal Commission for Environmental Pollution when the Government accepted the Royal Commission's recommendation that
it should be a declared policy aim to reduce pesticide usage to a minimum consistent with food production.It is not possible to monitor the success of this policy year by year, but the introduction of a criterion of efficacy for approval under the Food and Environment Protection Bill is intended to make a significant contribution to its achievement.
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those publications produced by or on behalf of his Department which enable farmers to determine whether pesticide usage on an agricultural enterprise has been reduced to the minimum consistent with efficient agricultural and horticultural production.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe Ministry's Agricultural Development and Advisory Service and the Agriculture and Food Research Council are researching into more efficient application techniques, integrated pest control systems, pest and disease-resistant plant varieties and better forecasting techniques for pest and disease incidence. The benefits of this work are systematically passed on to farmers and growers by a variety of means, which do not necessarily involve publications. However 635W ADAS produces a range of leaflets devoted to pest control and managed disease control which advise farmers and others on when spraying would be most effective.
I am sending examples to the hon. Member.
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether he will carry out tests for the presence of DDT, DDE, BHC, lindane, dieldrin, heptachlor, diazinon and malathion on imported coffee from Angola, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, E1 Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, the Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mexico, New Guinea, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Rwanda, Uganda and Venezuela;
(2) whether he will carry out tests for the presence of DDT, DDE, BHC, lindane, dieldrin, heptachlor, diazinon and malathion on imported (a) peppers and (b) strawberries from Mexico;
(3) whether he will carry out tests for the presence of DDT, DDE, BHC, lindane, dieldrin, heptachlor, diazinon and malathion on imported bananas from Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico;
(4) whether he will carry out tests for the presence of DDT, DDE, BHC, lindane, dieldrin, heptachlor, diazinon and malathion on imported sugar from Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, India and Thailand;
(5) whether he will carry out tests for the presence of DDT, DDE, BHC, lindane, dieldrin, heptachlor, diazinon, and malathion on imported olives from Italy and Spain;
(6) whether he will carry out tests for the presence of DDT, DDE, BHC, lindane, dieldrin, heptachlor, diazinon and malathion on imported tapioca from Thailand;
(7) whether he will carry out tests for the presence of DDT, DDE, BHC, lindane, dieldrin, heptachlor, diazinon and malathion on imported cacao from Cost Rica and Ecuador;
(8) whether he will carry out tests for the presence of DDT, DDE, BHC, lindane, heptachlor, diazinon and malathion on imported tea from Sri Lanka and India;
(9) whether he will carry out tests for the presence of DDT, DDE, BHC, lindane, dieldrin, heptachlor, diazinon and malathion on imported tomatoes from Mexico and Spain.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe working party on pesticide residues which reports to the interdepartmental steering group on food surveillance and the Advisory committee on Pesticides monitors foods, including imported foods, for a wide range of pesticide residues frequently including the organochlorine and organophospherous compounds mentioned in the question. A desciption of the methods of working of the working party, including ways in which priorities for residue analysis on specific foods are decided and pursued within the resources currently available for these activities has been published (The Ninth Report of the steering group on food surveillance). This report contains information on for example the analysis of total diet samples, which would have included bananas, for the organochlorines, and similarly, information on the organophosphorus compounds in these samples.
I expect a further comprehensive report of the more recent activities of this working party to be published later this year. This will present inter alia the results of a survey of pesticide residues on home-produced and imported fruits and vegetables including the organochlorines and certain organophosphorus compounds.
636WNo recent work has been carried out under the auspices of the working party on organochlorine and organophosphorus residues in sugar, coffee, cocoa and tapioca. Further work on tea has recently been proposed.
All imported foodstuffs are subject to control under the Imported Food Regulations (1984), the enforcement of which is the responsibility of the port health authorities or of local authorities inland where Customs examination is not completed at the port of entry.