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Badgers
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made based on badger road-kills as to the extent of their tuberculosis infection. [80486]
Mr. Rooker:
Until August 1990 badger carcases were collected and sampled as part of a national road traffic accident (RTA) survey of badgers. Since then RTA badger carcases have been collected and tested on an ad-hoc basis as part of the epidemiological investigation of TB incidents. Information from such carcases is not representative of the incidence of TB in the badger population as a whole.
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Both the Krebs report and the report from the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB recommended reintroducing the road traffic accident survey as part of a programme to establish the prevalence of TB among badgers. We are currently considering these recommendations.
Mr. Hayes:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what outside interests have been declared by the members of the Ad Hoc Expert Advisory Group on Vitamins and Minerals. [80628]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 13 April 1999]: The Declaration of Interests of members of the Export Group on Vitamins and Minerals has been published and copies have been deposited in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Hayes:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what decisions were taken at the meeting of the Ad Hoc Expert Advisory Group on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements on 21 January; and if the minutes of that meeting have been published. [80636]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 13 April 1999]: A summary of the items discussed at the meeting of the Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals on 21 January has been published and copies have been deposited in the Libraries of the House. The minutes of the meeting will be published once members of the Group have agreed them at their next meeting.
Mr. Hayes:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to review food safety legislation to give greater protection to the continued availability of vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplements and blends; and if his Department has had any discussions with the European Commission on such matters. [80624]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 13 April 1999]: The Government have no plans to review the way in which vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements and blends are regulated under food safety legislation. The Department responded in 1997 to a European Commission discussion paper on the harmonisation of controls on vitamin and mineral supplements and has been involved in discussions with the Commission on trade problems involving dietary supplements.
Mr. Hayes:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) when he expects the European Commission to publish the Draft Directive on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements; and what policy objectives he will be seeking to pursue when responding to that Draft when published; [80625]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 13 April 1999]: Controls on vitamin and mineral supplements vary from Member State to Member State. In most cases the rules relating to supplements sold under food law are more restrictive
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than those applying in the United Kingdom and typically limit the permitted level of vitamins and minerals in supplements to the Recommended Daily Amount or a multiple thereof. The EC Commission is considering the possibility of harmonising the controls on vitamin and mineral supplements sold under food law but is not yet committed to legislating in this area. We have made clear to the Commission and to other Member States our view that any new controls should be based on safety considerations.
Mr. Hayes:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the role and status of the Codex Alimentarius Commission; what progress has been made by that Commission in considering trade in dietary supplements; what his Department contributes to the discussions of that Commission; and what policy objectives are being pursued by his Department in that context. [80627]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 13 April 1999]: The Codex Alimentarius Commission is an FAO/WHO--sponsored intergovernmental body charged with the development of food standards to protect the health of consumers and facilitate international trade. The Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses has been discussing the elaboration of guidelines for dietary supplements containing vitamins and minerals for a number of years. When the draft guidelines were last discussed in September 1998 the UK argued, as it has done in the past, that maximum limits on the vitamin and mineral content of supplements should only be based on safety considerations. A similar line was taken by a number of other participants. But because there was a general lack of consensus on this, and other aspects of the proposal, little progress was made. The draft guidelines will not now be discussed again until the year 2000.
Mr. Hayes:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what guidance he has given to the Ad Hoc Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals on the conclusion of the Agriculture Committee's Fifth report of Session 1997-98 (HC 753) on Vitamin B6 that the Group should be asked to produce recommendations for a framework for deciding whether regulation of dietary supplements is necessary at all. [80623]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 13 April 1999]: Members of the Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals are aware of the conclusions and recommendations of the Agriculture Select Committee's report on Vitamin B6. They are also aware of the Government's response to the Select Committee's recommendation that the Group should be asked to produce recommendations for a framework for deciding whether regulation of dietary supplement is necessary at all. This states that:
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Mr. Hayes:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the membership of the European Union's Scientific Committee for Food in relation to its work on the safety of vitamin and mineral supplements, indicating the scientific backgrounds and declared interests of members; and what are the Committee's terms of reference. [80638]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 13 April 1999]: The Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) has allocated its work on the safety of vitamin and mineral supplements, to a Vitamins and Minerals Task Force. The Commission has not yet published a list of members of the Task Force or its terms of reference.
Mr. Hayes:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the roles of the (a) Food Advisory Committee and (b) Ad Hoc Expert Advisory Group on Vitamins and Minerals in considering the safety of vitamin and mineral supplements. [80629]
Mr. Rooker:
[holding answer 13 April 1999]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Bosworth (Mr. Tredinnick) on 25 March 1999, Official Report, column 410.
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of (a) farmers' access to generic drugs for use with animals and (b) the current cost structure of dispensing drugs through veterinary surgeons. [79877]
Mr. Rooker:
When no authorised veterinary medicinal product exists for a condition in a particular species and in order to avoid causing unacceptable suffering, veterinary surgeons exercising their clinical judgment may prescribe for one or a small number of animals under their care in accordance with the following sequence:
(2) what assessment he has made of the legislative position in other European Member States on the availability of vitamin and mineral supplements; and what steps he is taking in advance of the publication of the forthcoming Draft EU Directive on such supplements to encourage other Member State Governments to accept the principles which underpin his Department's polices in this area. [80626]
"The Government considers that [the Expert Group's] terms of reference do not place the Expert Group under any obligation to establish principles that would result in limits on the level of all vitamins and minerals in supplements sold under food law. It is for the Food Advisory Committee or, if it is established by the time the Group reports, the Food Standards Agency, to consider whether, in the light of the scientific evidence provided by the Expert Group, changes to the regulation of dietary supplements or their labelling should be recommended to Government".
(i) a veterinary medicine authorised for use in another species, or for a different use in the same species;
(ii) a medicine authorised in the UK for human use;
(iii) a medicine to be made up at the time on a one off basis by a veterinary surgeon or a properly authorised person.
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