§ Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domerasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many tonnes of animal feed were (i) imported into the United Kingom; and (ii) found to be contaminated; and by what proportion for each of the last five years. [HL4660]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathImports of animal feed for the years in question were as follows:
Year (000) Tonnes 1997 4,053 1998 3,915 1999 4,517 2000 4,358 2001 4,543 20021 1,090 1 January to March. Source: HM Customs and Excise.
Data prepared by Accounts and Trade, Statistics Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
2001 and 2002 data are provisional and subject to amendment.
We are advised by the Food Standards Agency that enforcement of animal feed controls is the responsibility of' local authorities. It has not been a requirement previously for local authorities to provide information on all checks carried out. However, under a recent Food Standards Agency initiative to strengthen feed enforcement, local authorities are being funded to carry out additional checks, including checks for contaminants in imported material and to make returns to the agency. The results obtained will be published.
We are also advised by the Pesticide Safety Directorate of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that it carries out testing of products, including imported feed, for pesticide residues. Pesticide residues found have been predominantly stored grain treatments. All residues were within permitted statutory maximum residue levels (MRLs). Presence of these residues would not be regarded as contamination. It is not possible to relate the samples collected to the proportion of imports, since the size of the consignment to which the test result relates is not recorded.