§ Mr. WalterTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the volume of poultry meat imports from Italy has been in the last three years; and if all imports were processed at establishments approved by the Italian authorities under EC Directive 92/116. [53712]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 30 July 1998]: Official Trade Statistics record that poultry meat imports into the UK from Italy amounted to 7,210 tonnes, 7,352 tonnes and 5,929 tonnes in 1995, 1996 and 1997 respectively. These figures remain provisional and subject to amendment. We have no reason to believe that any of the poultry meat imported from Italy in the last 3 years was produced in premises not operating in accordance with the conditions laid down in Directive 92/116.
§ Mr. WalterTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in which EU member states it is permitted to feed pigs meat and bone meal. [53715]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 30 July 1998]: As far as we are aware, the feeding of mammalian meat and bone meal (MBM) to pigs is permitted in all European Union countries except the United Kingdom.
UK controls prohibit the feeding of mammalian MBM to all farmed livestock, including pigs. This extension of the EU-wide ban was introduced on the specific advice of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC), to prevent cross contamination between ruminant and non ruminant feed. Our controls go further in this way than other Member States because we have had to cope with a much higher background level of infectivity.