HC Deb 29 June 1998 vol 315 cc106-8W
Mr. Edwards

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the advantages and disadvantages of permitting the use of vaccines for poultry which are permitted for use in other EU member states. [47446]

Mr. Rooker

Vaccines for poultry which are licensed in another member state may be the subject of applications for marketing authorisations in the United Kingdom. In cases where vaccines have already been authorised in accordance with Directive 81/851/EEC in another member state, marketing authorisations may be granted in the United Kingdom by a process of mutual recognition.

Mr. Edwards

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will require imported turkey meat to be labelled with details of(a) vaccines which have been administered to such poultry and (b) vaccines which have been administered which are not approved for use in the United Kingdom. [47447]

Mr. Rooker

I have no powers to do so. The vaccines in question will have been authorised in the member state in which they were administered.

Mr. Edwards

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will require imported poultry meat to be labelled with information about whether the meat has been subject to residue testing. [47451]

Mr. Rooker

No. Residue testing is a legal requirement for all EU member states and for third countries wishing to export here.

Mr. Edwards

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will require imported poultry meat to be clearly labelled to show if(a) meat and bone meal and (b) animal proteins have been used in the feeding of such poultry. [47445]

Mr. Rooker

I have no such intention. However, when appropriate, UK producers and retailers are free to provide additional indications voluntarily on domestic production where they consider this will improve marketability of their products.

Mr. Edwards

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will require imported poultry meat which is packed or processed in the United Kingdom to carry on-pack information about(a) its source and (b) its compliance or otherwise with United Kingdom health and welfare standards. [47443]

Mr. Rooker

Food labelling regulations require an indication of the place of origin of a food if failure to give such particulars might mislead a purchaser to a material degree about its true origin or provenance. In the case of processed foods, the place of origin is generally taken as the place it last underwent a substantial change.

There are no proposals to extend labelling requirements to cover compliance with national animal health and welfare standards.

Mr. Edwards

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will require imported poultry meat to be labelled with its country of origin. [47442]

Mr. Rooker

The labels on pre-packaged poultrymeat must give an indication of its country of origin when imported from outside the Community. The UK is in the process of taking steps to require this information to appear on labels, tickets or notices near where unpackaged poultry is offered for sale.

There are no plans to require poultrymeat of Community origin to indicate its country of origin on labelling, although all poultrymeat produced in the Community must include the registered number of the slaughterhouse or cutting plant which supplied the product (except where cutting and boning is carried out at the place of sale). These registered numbers are pre-fixed with the initials of the member state concerned.

Mr. Edwards

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ensure that the charge for residue testing under European Union Directive 96/43/EC does not exceed the costs of testing. [47452]

Mr. Rooker

I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to the hon. Member for South-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Paice) on 24 February 1998,Official Report, column 186, for background to this issue. He will wish to note, however, that the charge per tonne of poultrymeat is incorrectly stated as £1,0461; it should have read £1.0461.

The non-implementation of the requirement of Council Directive 96/43/EC to impose the minimum charge on the poultry industry is not an option. We have assured the industry that we will seek to re-negotiate this charge should the opportunity arise.

Mr. Edwards

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ban the import into the United Kingdom of meat from poultry which has been fed on meat and bone meal. [47444]

Mr. Rooker

No. The ban on meat and bone meal in poultry rations in the United Kingdom is to prevent cross contamination of ruminant feed with meat and bone meal incorporated into feed for other farm animals. It does not have any bearing on the poultry meat itself and there is therefore no basis on which it would be reasonable to extend these controls to imports.

Mr. Edwards

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will restrict the import of poultry meat which has been subject to antibiotic growth enhancers. [47449]

Mr. Rooker

Additives, including antibiotic growth promoters, incorporated in animal feedingstuffs are controlled throughout the European Union under Council Directive 70/524/EEC. This provides that no additive may be used in animal feed unless it meets a requirement that, at the level permitted in feedingstuffs, it does not adversely affect human or animal health or the environment. Approved additives may be freely marketed in the European Union and there would be no justification for restricting the import of poultrymeat which had been subject to approved antibiotic growth promoters.

Mr. Edwards

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has to restrict antibiotic growth enhancers in poultry production. [47448]

Mr. Rooker

The Government are giving careful consideration to recommendations made by the Agriculture Committee and the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology which concern the use of antibiotic growth promoters. Neither Committee made a specific recommendation relating to the use of antibiotic growth promoters by the poultry industry. The Government are advised on this issue by the independent scientific Veterinary Products Committee (VPC). In addition, the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food is reviewing the food safety implications of antimicrobial resistance.