§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many 250 g samples of withdrawal diet were obtained from the feeding system for poultry by category in the United Kingdom in (i) 1998, (ii) 1999, (iii) 2000 and (v) 2001; and what proportion was contaminated. [17100]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 23 November 2001]: Poultry feed is sampled as part of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate's (VMD's) Statutory National Surveillance Scheme, in accordance with the requirements of EU Directive 96/23. Samples of feed are tested for banned hormones β agonists and Annexe IV substances, which includes dimetridazole. Sampling is not restricted to withdrawal diet.
The results show that in 1998, 11.3 per cent.; in 1999, 0.4 per cent. and 2000, 2.6 per cent. of poultry feed samples contained residues of dimetridazole. Sampling so far in 2001 has found no residues of dimetridazole.
The results for 1998–2000 were fully reported in the relevant Annual Report on Surveillance for Veterinary Medicine Residues. Results for 2001 are reported in the VMD's MAVIS publication, which is regularly updated on the VMD website.
852W
§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth) of 29 October 2001,Official Report, columns 543–44W, if she will list the level and type of pesticides that tested above levels deemed safe for human consumption in (a) 1998, (b) 1999, (c) 2000 and (d) 2001 to date. [17301]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 23 November 2001]: Full details of all the samples containing residues above the Maximum Residue Level (MRL) and those where a consumer risk assessment indicated that intakes for certain consumer groups could exceed acceptable intakes are contained in the following reports:
1998: Working Party on Pesticide Residues (WPPR) Annual Report: PB 4546A and B.
1999: Working Party on Pesticide Residues (WPPR) Annual Report: PB 5181 A and B.
2000: Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC) Annual Report.
2001: the results for the first quarter were published in August this year. They are available on the PRC website, at www.pesticides.gov.uk/committees/PRC/prc.htm. The WPPR and PRC reports are also available on this website and copies are being placed in the Library of the House.
An MRL is not a consumer safety level as such. It is based on residue levels which result from the approved use of a pesticide (i.e. Good Agricultural Practice; GAP) and are set at a level which is as low as possible while accommodating the GAP. However, MRLs are always set on the basis of consumer risk assessments. MRLs are never higher and are generally much lower than the maximum residue concentration considered to be acceptable.
§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth) of 29 October 2001,Official Report, columns 543–44W, what proportion of (a) vegetables, (b) fruit, (c) cereal products and (d) meat products available for consumption in the United Kingdom was sampled for pesticide residues in (i) 1998, (ii) 1999, (iii) 2000 and (iv) 2001 to date. [17300]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 23 November 2001]: Details of the samples analysed under the Pesticide Residues Committee surveillance programme are contained in the following reports:
1998: Working Party on Pesticide Residues (WPPR) Annual Report: PB 4546A and B.1999: Working Party on Pesticide Residues (WPPR) Annual Report: PB 5181 A and B.2000 Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC) Annual Report.2001: the results for the first quarter were published in August this year.They are available on the PRC website, at www.pesticides.gov.uk/committees/PRC/prc.htm. The WPPR and PRC reports are also available on this website and copies are being placed in the Library of the House. It is not possible to relate the samples collected to the proportion of UK foodstuffs consumed since the size of the consignment to which the test result relates is not recorded.
853WThe safety of any pesticide residue in a foodstuff depends not only on its concentration in that foodstuff but also on the consumption of that food by different groups of consumers. Potential intakes of the same residues from other foodstuffs also have to be taken into account. Consumer risk assessments are conducted in relation to all samples tested where a residue is found exceeding the relevant MRL.
Full details of all samples containing residues above the MRL and those where a consumer risk assessment indicated that intakes for certain consumer groups could exceed acceptable levels are contained in the annual report of the Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC) for 2000, copies of which are available in the Library of the House, and in the first PRC quarterly report for the year 2001. Copies of these reports are available on the PRC website at www.pesticides.gov.uk/cornmittees/PRC/prc.htm.
It is not possible to express these findings as a proportion of UK foodstuffs consumed since the size of the consignment to which the test samples relate is not recorded.
§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth), on 29 October 2001,Official Report, columns 543–44W, what proportion of (a) vegetables, (b) fruit, (c) cereal product and (d) meat products available for consumption in the United Kingdom were found to contain pesticide residues above a level deemed safe for human consumption in the last 12 months. [17229]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 23 November 2001]: Controls on pesticide residues in food are based on a system of statutory maximum residue levels (MRLs). MRLs are set for particular pesticide active ingredients on particular foodstuffs. MRLs are not safety levels but are established on the basis of the approved use of the active substance. They are generally set at levels lower than is necessary for safety purposes to ensure that only the minimum necessary pesticide dose is applied.
The safety of any pesticide residue in a foodstuff depends not only on its concentration in that foodstuff but also on the consumption of that food by different groups of consumers. Potential intakes of the same residues from other foodstuffs also have to be taken into account. Consumer risk assessments are conducted in relation to all samples tested where a residue is found exceeding the relevant MRL.
Full details of all samples containing residues above the MRL and those where a consumer risk assessment indicated that intakes for certain consumer groups could exceed acceptable levels are contained in the annual report of the Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC) for 2000, copies of which are available in the Library of the House, and in the first PRC quarterly report for the year 2001. Copies of these reports are available on the PRC website at www.pesticides.gov.uk/committees/PRC/prc.htm.
854WIt is not possible to express these findings as a proportion of UK foodstuffs consumed since the size of the consignment to which the test samples relate is not recorded.