§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if it is Her Majesty's Government's intention to ban the use of canthaxanthin in the production of fish farm feeding stuffs; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonThe use of canthaxanthin in fish feed in the United Kingdom is permitted under European Community directive and I am not aware of any proposals to change that. In its recent report on colouring matter in food, the Food Advisory Committee endorsed a recommendation from the Committee on Toxicology that the use of canthaxanthin should be restricted to feed prepared for farmed salmon and farmed trout only. Representations on the report were invited and I shall be making a further statement on the report when all the representations have been fully considered.