John Bruton
Question:209 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if the import of meat products is permitted in cases where antibiotic growth promotion was used; and, if so, the reason in this regard. [13514/01]
Written Answers - Food Imports.
Use of antibiotics as growth promoters in the EU is regulated under Council Directive 70-524. Under this legislation, four specific antibiotics continue to be approved for growth promotion purposes within the EU. This follows the ban, with effect from the beginning of 2000, on four other antibiotics on the basis of the precautionary principle in order to avoid any possible contribution to the development of antibiotic resistance.
Third countries are obliged under relevant EU legislation to provide guarantees in a specified format to the European Commission, inter alia, to the effect that they have systems in place to ensure that product exported to the EU does not contain levels of antibiotic residues levels in excess of the relevant maximum residue limits, MRLs. In addition, third countries are subjected to verification missions by inspectors from the Commission's Food and Veterinary Office, which missions, I understand, include examination of their measures to control use of antibiotics for growth promotion purposes.