§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what checks have been carried out to ensure animals treated against warble fly have not been sent for slaughter before the withdrawal period recommended by the manufacturers has expired; and if he will publish the results;
(2) which checks have been carried out to ensure sheep dipped in an organophosphorous solution have not been sent for slaughter before the withdrawal period recommended by the manufacturers; and if he will publish the results.
§ Mr. MacleanWithdrawal periods for licensed veterinary medicines, where stipulated, are designed to ensure that any residues in products from the treated animal are at safe levels. Residue levels are checked by my Department through its extensive programme of monitoring at slaughterhouses and on farms. For maximum effectiveness monitoring is carried out on a carefully randomised basis, not on target groups, but the results to date have not given any evidence of problems which could be attributed to warble fly treatment or sheep dipping.