§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his Department's current policy towards use of the apple spray Alar following the decision by Uniroyal to withdraw it from sale for food use, after the disclosure in tests of(a) lung tumours in mice and (b) liver tumours in rats.
§ Mr. GummerThe current approvals for Alar have been under review since February this year. The independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides in April considered all available data on daminozide, the active ingredient of Alar, and its breakdown product UDMH. It concluded these did not show a health risk, but asked the manufacturers to provide as quickly as possible the results of further tests being carried out on UDMH. A summary of the interim results arrived in September and was reported to the ACP; the supporting data have just become available and are being studied urgently. The doses of UDMH given to both rats and mice were massive compared to any amounts likely to be encountered by humans. Animals dosed with significant amounts showed no more tumours than the control group but very large doses produced some effects and the ACP is now considering whether or not these indicate any change in its assessment of risk. Its recommendation to Ministers will be made public.
These tests were reported in September to a group of international experts on pesticide residues working jointly to the Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Health Organisation. It recommended that an acceptable daily intake of 0.5mg/kg body weight/day could safely be set for daminozide.
The decision of the manufacturers to withdraw Alar was taken on commercial grounds since they have stated publicly that they do not believe its use on food crop poses a significant risk to public health. However, they have also 566W stated that even if continued registration of their product is successful they believe that growers and the food industry would be reluctant to return to their product.
Mr. David Clark: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recommendations were made at its last meeting by his advisory committee on pesticides with regard to the use of Alar.
§ Mr. GummerThe advisory committee did not make any recommendations at its last meeting on the use of the product Alar.
§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will re-examine the procedures whereby the apple spray Alar was given clearance by the Advisory Committee on Pesticides in the light of the withdrawal of the product by its makers Uniroyal.
§ Mr. GummerI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave today to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond). I see no reason to re-examine the procedure of the ACP.
§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what stocks of the apple spray Alar exist in this country; whether users will be permitted to exhaust these; and what plans he has to order their withdrawal.
§ Mr. GummerI have no quantitative information about stocks of Alar in this country.
I have no plans to order withdrawal of Alar stocks from growers. Continued usage of their stocks will depend on the advice of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides during its review of daminozide.