§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish in theOfficial Report the pesticides for which there are international safety limits; and if he will indicate in each case whether the safety limit is accepted by his Department and what action is taken to see that the limit is invariably observed.
§ Mr. RyderInternational acceptable daily intakes for pesticide residues are published by the codex alimentarius commission of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation. The United Kingdom accepts these unless there are sound scientific reasons for not doing so. Our approval procedures take ADIs into account; we have a range of maximum residue levels which, while they are not themselves safety limits, must be toxicologically acceptable; and regular monitoring of pesticide residues in food provides a check that MRLs—and hence ADIs—are not being exceeded.
§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of the pesticides used on food are used in order to(a) preserve the food or prolong the shelf life, (b) improve the appearance and (c) increase the yield of the crop.
§ Mr. RyderIt is not possible to provide the information requested. All agricultural pesticides, including herbicides are used with the ultimate aim of producing good quality marketable produce with minimal crop losses.
§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when his Department was informed by his United States counterpart of the concern in the United States of America, about the apple spray Alar; what action he took following the receipt of information; and when he did so.
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§ Mr. RyderOfficials in my Department received information about the United States Environmental Protection Agency's action on daminozide (marketed as Alar) on 9 February 1989. On 10 February they requested all available data from the manufacturer and supplier, including the studies submitted to the EPA, in order to carry out an emergency review. The data have been supplied and have been considered by independent experts on the advisory committee on pesticides, whose conclusions will shortly be made public.
§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence of safety was considered by the advisory committee on pesticides when, in 1980, it approved the apple spray Alar.
§ Mr. RyderThe advisory committee on pesticides considered an application for clearance of daminozide, the active ingredient of Alar products, in 1967. The application was supported by a full toxicological, residue and environmental data package according to the standards of the time.
§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the response of his Department to the European Economic Community directive which would compel retailers to inform customers of the pesticides used on the fruit and vegetables they sell.
§ Mr. RyderWhile I am in favour of informative labelling of food there are a number of technical problems that will arise if the European Commission's proposal is implemented. The United Kingdom delegation has therefore expressed some reservations in the discussions which have taken place to date.
§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to prevent retailers from selling fruit and vegetables which have pesticide residues which are above international safety limits.
§ Mr. RyderI am not aware of any international safety limits for pesticide residues on fruit and vegetables. However the Government brought into force on 1 January this year a wide range of maximum residue levels for pesticides in foodstuffs. These take account of acceptable daily intakes for individual chemicals published by the codex alimentarius commission as described in my reply earlier today.
§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many pesticides are known to be used on food; and which of these are thought to be the most dangerous if excessive residues remain.
§ Mr. RyderOf the 400 or so active ingredients currently approved for use in the United Kingdom, some two thirds do not leave detectable residues. Ministers in six Government Departments must be satisfied that usage will not result in residue levels likely to pose a hazard to health before any pesticide is approved for use.