§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which pesticides his Department has examined as potentially injurious to health when used in the production of fruit and vegetables; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RyderAll pesticides must be approved before they can be sold or used. Pesticides are by their very nature active against some living organisms and hence their use offers a potential risk to both human health and the environment. This is precisely why we take great care to ensure that only those products which have met stringent criteria on safety may be used.
Under part III of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 Ministers in six Government Departments must first be satisfied that a product can be used safely before any approval is given. In order to obtain approval pesticide manufacturers are require to provide a range of scientific data, which are then subjected to rigorous scrutiny by the independent experts of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides. This will include, where appropriate, assessment of studies on the short and long-term toxicity of the product, on its cumulative effects and on any delayed effects which might emerge after a latent period.
Only when Ministers are convinced, on the basis of expert advice, that the product can be used without risk to people—whether operators, consumers or those in the vicinity of spraying operations—livestock or domestic animals and with minimal risk to the environment, will authority to put it on the market be given.
As part of the approvals process all products may be subject to review at any time if new evidence arises suggesting the existence of a previously unevaluated risk. On this basis Ministers have sought the views of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides on a number of pesticides used on fruit and vegetables since the legislation took effect and products based on the active ingredients dinoseb and related products, and cyhexatin have been withdrawn from use. Other substances are either under review or the subject of consultation.
§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the size of the section within his Department which monitors the pesticide residues in fruit 141W and vegetables in the United Kingdom; if he will list the names and positions of those civil servants with such responsibilities; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RyderPesticides safety division has over 80 scientific and administrative staff, and carries out the greater part of the work relating to pesticides safety which falls to my Department. However for monitoring fruit and vegetables for pesticide residues the division's resource are supplemented by the working party on pesticide residues, which is chaired by the Director of the ADAS central science laboratory and benefits from a technical secretariat provided by food science division.
The working party has expert members drawn from other MAFF divisions, other Government Departments, from a number of laboratories in the Government service and from local authorities. A range of laboratories contribute to the monitoring programme including ADAS central science laboratory, ADAS central veterinary laboratory, MAFF food science laboratory, MAFF fisheries laboratory, laboratories at DAFS and DANI, the laboratory of the Government chemist and certain public analysts' laboratories. The working party reports both to the Standing Committee on Food Surveillance and the Advisory Committee on Pesticides. It is on the recommendation of the latter that any necessary changes are made to the conditions of approval of pesticides to ensure that residues remain within acceptable limits.
As can be seen, a large number of individuals are involved. The membership of the committees mentioned above is listed in their reports.
§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will list the likely consequences to consumers who consume fruit and vegetables containing pesticides residues which are over the recommended safety limit; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what assessment he has made of the safety of customers consuming apples and pears and vegetables containing pesticides residues for sale in outlets in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RyderMaximum residue levels for pesticides are primarily designed to act as a check that good agricultural practice in the use of pesticides is being followed by farmers and growers. However, the approval process for pesticides ensures that the levels incorporate adequate margins of safety for consumers as well.
It is misleading to describe MRLs as "safety limits" as the hon. Member does, as that term suggests that if an MRL is exceeded the consumer's health is put at risk: in fact the safety margins which MRLs incorporate are designed to ensure that even if a person consumes extreme quantities of a particular food over a long period of time, and all that food contains residues at the MRL (which is unlikely) the overall intake of residue should cause that person no harm. It follows that the occasional consumption of food containing residues which do not greatly exceed the MRL should present no risk to health.