WRITTEN QUESTION E-2904/97 by Hiltrud Breyer (V) to the Commission (17 September 1997)

Subject: Toxic chemicals in foodstuffs

1. To what extent can the Commission confirm whether and how cases of Multi-Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) are scientifically documented in the Member States of the EU?

2. Has an increase in the number of allergies in the EU Member States been recorded? Has a survey been carried out to ascertain the number of sufferers from MCS and/or IEI (Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance)? Has the number of such cases increased?

3. What measures does the Commission intend taking if it can be proved that a Federal Health Authority has authorized the use of such highly-toxic substances, although their toxicity and effects on humans and foetuses were already known?

4. What would the legal situation of those affected be if a publicly-funded study came to the conclusion that the substances involved were highly toxic but had nevertheless been authorized?

5. What would the Commission's attitude be towards the establishment of a Fund, partly financed by the international chemical industry?

6. Is the Commission aware that some foodstuffs such as hops are authorized to contain permethrin, a substance which was used as a chemical weapon in the Gulf War and which is also used as a pesticide? Various scientific studies (e.g. by Dr Plygers in Belgium and by Prof. Greyser in Bremen, Germany) have established that pesticides such as pyrethrins are highly toxic if they come into contact with other domestic chemicals. In Germany, foodstuffs containing such substances have hitherto not been required to indicate that fact.

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (24 November 1997)

1. The issue of chemical hyper-reactivity, an unexplained heightened response to chemicals at levels far lower than those at which most people respond, has generated considerable debate in Europe and North America. The condition, often called (or associated with) multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), sick building syndrome (SBS) or chemical hypersensitivity, lacks compelling scientific evidence concerning the relationship between exposure to specific agents and health effects.

The Commission supported a study on the existence and nature of the condition in several Member States which concluded, in 1994, that no reliable data could be collected due to the lack of common definitions and diagnosis.

The lack of information is due to the difficulty involved in characterising properly the relevant situations, and following affected individuals for long periods of time, so as to identify subsequent sensitivities or to distinguish between initiating and promoting exposures.

However, some Member States keep exposure or event-specific information for industrial, occupational and domestic environments or consumer product-based cases. Other Member States have patient-specific information which is not published, but which can be used to stimulate discussion or suggest hypotheses for scientific work.

2. The prevalence of allergies in the Community is rising and manifestations of allergic diseases are now observed in about one third of the general population. This is why the Commission recently proposed a public health action programme on pollution-related diseases by which it intends to tackle the problem of rising asthma and allergy prevalence in Europe ((OJ C 214, 16.7.1997. )).

The Commission is not aware of reports on links between the condition described as MCS and allergies.

3. The Commission cannot act against approvals of toxic substances by Member States which are not covered by Community legislation.

4. The Commission sees this as a matter for Member States' laws.

5. The possible establishment of the fund is not, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, for action by the Commission.

6. The Commission is aware that permethrin, an insecticide, is authorised as an active ingredient in plant protection products in all Member States. For this reason it is included as one of the 90 priority substances for review at Community level in the framework of Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market ((OJ L 230, 19.8.1991. )). During this process maximum residue levels in foodstuffs, including hops, are set according to agreed scientific rules ensuring highest level of human and animal health.

In pharmacology and toxicology very few substances are known that, when administered simultaneously, produce effects which are greater than the sum of the individual effects. Whilst there is no systematic scientific approach at present for examining possible combined effects of different pesticide residues, there is no scientific evidence to support the likelihood of a risk to consumer health because of additive or synergistic effects of pesticide residues in foodstuffs. Furthermore, even in the unlikely event of synergistic effects occurring, it should be born in mind that pesticide intakes arising from food containing residues at the maximum residue levels are normally several orders of magnitude lower than the toxicological thresholds established from experiments on animals.