§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 7 December 1998,Official Report, column 103, what assessment he has made of the proposal from the European Commission to ban the use of four antibiotic growth promoters from 1 January 1999. [64123]
§ Mr. RookerThe proposal was put to the Council of Agriculture Ministers on 14 December 1998. We supported the proposal, which is designed to reduce the risk of the build up of microbial resistance to antibiotics in animals and man. It was possible that the abrupt introduction of the ban would adversely affect animal health and welfare, leading to an unnecessary increase in the use of therapeutic antibiotics. The ban will not therefore come into effect until 1 July 1999, giving livestock producers time to adapt to the loss of the four growth promoters. The proposal, as agreed, is in line with advice the Government have received from the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF) and the Veterinary Products Committee that the use of antibiotics which may impair the efficacy of prescribed therapeutic antibiotics used in human medicine through the development of resistant strains of organisms should be phased out.