§ Mr. Freudasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will list the testing time for rhizomania in respect of the different crops on which tests are carried out;
(2) whether he intends to seek to ban imported vegetables unless they have been washed; and if he will make a statement;
(3) if he will list the tonnage of unwashed potatoes imported from Holland in each of the last seven months;
(4) if he is satisfied that sufficient controls exist to minimise the spread of rhizomania in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement;
(5) if he will list the number and locations of reported cases of rhizomania brought to the United Kingdom from the Continent; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Donald Thompson[pursuant to his reply, 28 November 1986, c. 375]: We have taken a number of measures to guard against the risk of rhizomania being imported into the United Kingdom. In particular, we have taken steps, by statutory order, to:
- (i) impose import controls to ensure that all beet seed and stecklings brought into the United Kingdom are free of the disease;
- (ii) require all imported seed potatoes to come from areas free from rhizomania;
- (iii) require all agricultural machinery to be thoroughly cleaned before import.
In addition, we published last year a code of practice for the safe disposal of waste from imported vegetables which was distributed to all processing, packaging and waste disposal firms which have been encouraged to observe it on a voluntary basis. I regard these controls as providing a good defence against the introduction of this disease.
There have been no outbreaks of rhizomania in the United Kingdom. We were fortunate in being able to take preventive action when it became apparent that the disease was spreading in northern Europe some three years ago.
As part of our monitoring and risk assessment some tests have been carried out on soil attached to imports of ware potatoes: these tests take some eight weeks to complete. In one case rhizomania was detected in soil attached to potatoes imported from the Netherlands for processing in Cambridgeshire. This finding did not alter our assessment of the risk from this source, nor was any special action required as the waste from the consignment in question had already been disposed of in conformity with the voluntary code of practice to which I have referred.
Intensive surveys for signs of rhizomania in growing crops have revealed no trace of the disease in sugar or other beet crops in the United Kingdom. Laboratory tests on beet are necessary only when symptons of possible infection are found during growing crop inspections: these tests can take some two to three weeks.
I am looking into the question of the need for any additional arrangements to further minimise the risk from soil attached to imported vegetables for processing and packaging and I shall make a further statement about this.
477WStatistics available on imports from the Netherlands do not distinguish between washed and unwashed potatoes.
478W