§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will institute a moratorium on the use of organophosphorus sheep dips until the medical and scientific panel investigating reports of long-term health effects reaches its conclusions; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. SoamesIndependent scientific advice from the Veterinary Products Committee following its meeting in October is that there is no firm evidence to support the association of chronic health effects with exposure to organophosphorus sheep dips. The committee nevertheless recommended that knowledge of potential toxicity should be enhanced, which is why the medical and scientific panel has recently been set up. The committee concluded that in the mean time the marketing of the dips could continue, and the Government have accepted this advice.