HL Deb 02 December 1997 vol 583 cc160-1WA
Lord Rowallan

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether from 1 January 1998 it will not be legal to give a horse the drug phenylbutazone if the horse is going into the food chain, given that the drug is not part of any annex to Council Regulation 2377/90/EEC.

The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Donoughue)

From 1 January 1998 it will not be legal to treat a food producing animal with phenylbutazone because data sufficient to calculate a maximum residue limit (MRL) in food have not been produced and no MRL will be fixed. However, we have been guided by a statement by European Commission officials that, if a horse is not destined for human consumption, MRLs are not required. Accordingly, phenylbutazone will continue to be authorised in the United Kingdom for horses not intended for human consumption, but the relevant products will carry a warning statement indicating that they must not he used if a horse is intended for human consumption.

Lord Rowallan

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has told the British Equine Veterinary Association that any horse receiving any drug, including phenylbutazone, for which there are no maximum residual levels cannot enter the food chain in any member state of the European Union; and whether the Central Veterinary Officer of Ireland has as a direct result declared that all horses must be classified as food producing animals.

Lord Donoughue

Council Regulation EEC No. 2377/90 requires the establishment of maximum residue limits (MRLs) for veterinary medicinal products in foodstuffs of animal origin. Where an MRL cannot be determined, that veterinary medicine cannot be used in any member state of the European Union in a food producing animal. A statement issued by Commission officials in 1994 makes it clear that it is for national authorities to guarantee that a horse will not be destined for human consumption, before a veterinary medicinal product for which no MRL has been fixed can be used.