§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement on the use of beta-agonists in food animals.
§ Mr. SoamesBeta-agonists are a group of drugs which have been used for a number of years in both human and veterinary medicines. In the United Kingdom there are five licensed veterinary medicines containing clenbuterol, a member of the family of beta-agonist drugs. These can be used legally only on prescription from a veterinary surgeon and are used in the treatment of respiratory ailments in cattle and horses and as an aid to cattle at the time of calving.
When fed to food-producing animals at high dosages, beta-agonists have been found to improve the lean content of the carcase. No beta-agonists have, however, been licensed in the United Kingdom or in any other member state for this purpose and any such use would therefore be illegal.
Surveillance for residues of beta-agonists in meat is carried out in Great Britain under the national surveillance scheme for residues in meat. Under this scheme randomly selected samples are collected from carcases at slaughterhouses and from live animals on farms. No beta-agonist positives have been identified from samples taken under this scheme since testing commenced in August 1989.
Separate surveillance arrangements directed at retail and wholesale premises, cover both imported and domestic supplies. Two clenbuterol positive samples were reported in 1992 (Official Report, 2 March 1993, column 78). Neither was likely to have posed any threat to human health, but it was not possible to establish whether the samples originated in Great Britain or elsewhere. No further positive samples have been reported in 1993 to date.
Because of the evidence of abuse of beta-agonists outside Great Britain, surveillance has been increased under both schemes this year. In particular, as a result of the recent reports in the media following the finding by Somerset county council of traces of clenbuterol in samples of pig liver pâté manufactured in Belgium, sampling of pâté has been increased. Under the retail animal products survey approximately 70 samples of pig liver pôté will have been collected from retail outlets across the United Kingdom by the end of November. The full results of this survey will be published as soon as all the confirmed results become available. The confirmed results of the analysis of the first 25 samples taken during September have, however, shown no evidence of contamination with clenbuterol.