WRITTEN QUESTION P-1785/02

by Jan Mulder (ELDR) to the Commission

(17 June 2002)

Subject: The pesticide nitrofen in animal feed

The carcinogenic pesticide nitrofen has been found in animal feed in Germany. The German authorities have now traced various sources of contamination.

The Food and Veterinary Office in Dublin is responsible for monitoring European agricultural production. How frequently has the Food and Veterinary Office carried out relevant checks in Germany over the past two years, and what were the results of those checks?

The Commission is monitoring the situation, but as yet has taken no action.

Why is the Commission taking no action, given the large volume of exports from Germany and the potential danger to health?

What measures is the Commission taking to prevent the spread of contamination and to take the affected products off the market?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(17 July 2002)

The Commission has been closely following the case of contamination of the feed and food chain with nitrofen since the German authorities notified the case to the Commission through the rapid alert system. The Commission set up a task force in order to follow the development of the emergency, to examine its impact on public and consumer health and to examine necessary measures, which might need to be taken.

In the last three years two inspections were carried out in the relevant sectors in Germany: on organic farming and on the marketing and use of pesticides and on residues in foodstuffs. The Commission has made recommendations to Germany with the view of optimising the control systems currently in place. The reports were sent to the Parliament following the usual procedure and are available at the following websites:http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/inspections/fnaoi/reports/organic_farming/germany/index_en.html andhttp://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/inspections/fnaoi/reports/pesticides/germany/index_en.html

The Commission requested regular updates from the German authorities on the progress of their investigations. The German authorities reported that so far they have found that the contamination originated in one single warehouse; they have no evidence of the existence of other sources of contamination. They fully identified and traced back all the goods that had been stored in this warehouse since August 2001, down through several levels of distribution: traders, flour mills, feed manufacturers, animal holdings. Farms were blocked and investigated. Feed, animals and food products from these farms were tested and potentially contaminated products still on the market were recalled. The same happened to products exported from Germany.

The Commission has kept the Member States informed through regular meetings of the Standing Committees on the Food Chain and Animal Health and on Organic Farming, where the German authorities have given full explanations.

On 11 June 2002, the Standing Committee was satisfied with the measures taken by the German authorities and noted that there was no need at that moment to take additional Community measures in the light of the information provided.

The Commission is sending an inspection mission of the Food and Veterinary Office to Germany in order to identify possible weaknesses in the control systems and to make an assessment of actions taken by the German authorities.