Avoparcin (Hansard, 25 July 1997)

§ Mr. David Heath
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the proportion of poultry flocks which are administered the food additive avoparcin. [9992]

§ Mr. Rooker
In December 1996, the European Commission presented a proposal to the Standing Committee banning the use of avoparcin as an additive in animal feed. The proposal was agreed by qualified majority and the UK implemented the ban on the use of avoparcin as a feed additive by the 1 April 1997 deadline. Product licences containing avoparcin were revoked with effect from 31 March. Avoparcin is therefore no longer authorised as a feed additive for use in poultry flocks.

§ Mr. Heath
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research he has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into links between avoparcin feed additive for poultry and vancomycin-resistant enterococcal infections in humans. [9993]

§ Mr. Rooker
The Government take very seriously the possibility of the development of antibiotic resistance in humans and animals as a result of the use of antibiotics in animal feed. This is carefully examined as part of the safety assessment of applications for authorisations for antimicrobial products, and is kept under review by the independent scientific Veterinary Products Committee which advises the Government on the safety, quality and efficacy of veterinary medicines. In considering the use of antibiotics, the committee has consistently followed the principles established in the report of the Joint Committee on the Use of Antibiotics in Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine—the Swann report—of 1969. The VPC evaluated the report on Avoparcin produced by the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Animal Nutrition and endorsed its conclusion that, on the basis of science the evidence presented did not establish a risk to human health, animal health or the environment.
Apart from regular reviews by the VPC, a number of other recent initiatives into the issue of antibiotic resistance have been undertaken. The Advisory Committee on Microbiological Safety of Food has set up a working group to assess the risks to humans from antibiotic resistant micro-organisms entering the food chain. The working group is expected to report by the end of the year. Secondly, following the ban on avoparcin, a Commission working group has prepared a programme for the monitoring of resistance to a number of antibiotics in pigs and poultry. Samples are to be taken in slaughterhouses in a number of member states including the UK. The EU Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products has also set up an ad hoc working party to investigate the prevalence and effects of anitmicrobial resistance in animals and potential for transfer to man. Finally, the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology has established a sub-committee on resistance to anti-microbial agents. It aims to report in early 1998.