§ Mr. SawfordTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to, allow the use of pig and poultry bonemeal. [75843]
§ Mr. RookerThe existing bans on the use of mammalian meat and bone meal (MBM) in feed for farmed animals and as fertiliser on agricultural land do not extend to MBM derived from poultry.
Representations have been made by the pig industry and the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) to allow porcine MBM to be fed to poultry on the condition that processing takes place in rendering plants dedicated to pig waste. The existing ban was put in place on the 319W recommendation of SEAC, and the Government continue to base their handling of BSE on the advice on the Committee.
Before we would be prepared to ask SEAC to look at the use of porcine MBM for export or poultry feed purposes the industry itself will need to address the key issues of how monitoring at all stages of production and distribution would be carried out to avoid the possibility of cross contamination.