WRITTEN QUESTION E-1583/97 by Ulla Sandbæk (I-EDN) to the Commission (6 May 1997)

Subject: Common standards for all foodstuffs in the interests of free world trade

A report from the latest Codex Alimentarius meeting on common standards for all foodstuffs in the interests of free world trade states that the Codex has not:

1. specified those parts of the animal where farmers may inject drugs.

This means that meat inspections at slaughterhouses cannot find the injection points and then reject the drug-contaminated meat; this is a problem since the drugs accumulate round the point of injection and break down only slowly.

2. set limits for the drug content of meat.

This means that animals may be slaughtered before the meat is completely drug-free.

The Codex Alimentarius is also to introduce a new chemical method for measuring antibiotic and other drug residues in animals for slaughter to replace the biological method currently used. This will lead to a considerable increase in costs for the slaughterhouses and laboratories that perform the measurements.

Is it true that the Commission has accepted the lack of regulations on point of injection? Does the Commission intend to go along with the Codex in accepting drugs in meat, or will it campaign for drug-free meat?

Has the Commission already decided on its policy here? If so, will it accept the Codex standards which in this case fall far below existing Danish and European requirements?

Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission (19 June 1997)

The Commission supposes that the Honourable Member is referring to the report of the tenth session of the Codex committee on residues of veterinary drugs in foods, held in San José, Costa Rica from 29 October to 1 November 1996.

This report does not particularly refer to a specification of the site on an animal where farmers may inject drugs. However, the discussion of injection sites in general took place during the above mentioned meeting, and this point will again be considered at the next session of the Codex committee on residues of veterinary drugs in food to be held in April 1998.

The Commission is not yet a full member of the Codex, but has only the status of a privileged observer. The Member States nevertheless are full members of Codex alimentarius.

In the Community residues of veterinary medicinal products are regulated in Council Regulation 2377/90 ((Council Regulation 2377/90, OJ L 224, 18.8.1990. )) as amended. This provides that all pharmacological active substances used in veterinary medicinal products administered to animals used for food production have to be evaluated. After this evaluation they are to be listed into one of four annexes of this regulation. Annex I and III establish maximum residue limits (MRL) for products originating from animals. Annex IV lists substances not to be used in veterinary medicinal products used in animals intended for food production and Annex II lists those substances for which after sound scientific evaluation no MRL has to be established. MRLs are proposed by the scientific committee for the evaluation of veterinary medicinal products (CVMP) and set through the procedure laid down in Council Regulation 2377/90. Codex standards are considered by this committee. The Commission has never expressed its intention to reduce the standards of consumer protection already achieved in the Community and does not intend to do so.