John Bruton
Ceist:79 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the testing undertaken to identify traces of dangerous chemicals that may have been used in fish farming in fish on sale in shops here. [14489/01]
Written Answers. - Food Safety.
In common with other food producing industries, the fish farming sector makes use, as necessary, of veterinary medicinal products to combat and control disease and parasites. Sampling and monitoring programmes for farmed fish are carried out by the Marine Institute under EU Directive 96/23. Farmed fish are monitored for a wide range of residues which fall into the following broad categories: substances having anabolic effects and unauthorised substances; veterinary therapeutants, including antibiotics and sea lice treatments; and environmental contaminants, PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, lead, cadmium and mercury.
In addition, new EU legislation regarding feedstuffs coming into force towards the end of this year will require the monitoring of certain chemicals and residues in animal and fish feed.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has been working closely with the Marine Institute which has been monitoring PCBs, organochlorine pesticides and heavy metals in wild fish for a number of years, and more recently in farmed fish. There are, as yet, no EU standards for PCBs in fish. Analysis of sampling undertaken as part of the 1999 programme for Irish farmed fish shows that the concentration of PCBs was considerably lower than the strictest international standards. The FSAI in liaison with the Marine Institute is currently carrying out a survey into dioxin and PCB levels in farmed and wild salmon and trout. The results of the survey which will be published by the FSAI, will be available later this year.
John Bruton
Ceist:80 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to a 1999 study by the Food Contaminants Division of the British Ministry for Agriculture and Food which suggests that if we eat fish more than twice a week we are likely to exceed dioxin and PCB intakes considered safe by the World Health Organisation. [14490/01]
In August 1999, the UK Ministry for Agriculture and Food – MAFF – issued a bulletin on dioxins and PCBs in marine fish. In light of a survey and report carried out for MAFF and the Ministry of Health, the independent expert committee on toxicology of chemicals in food, consumer products and the environment recommended that adults follow the advice of the committee on the medical aspects of nutrition and food policy that individuals should consume one portion of oily fish per week as part of a balanced diet.
Polychlorinated biphenyls – PCBs – are persistent organic pollutants that are principally the result of industrial processes. The UK report did not conclude that if consumers eat more fish more than twice a week they are likely to exceed dioxin and PCB intakes considered safe by the WHO. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has stated that there is no evidence to date that fish consumed in Ireland is endangering public health with respect to PCBs and dioxins.
The World Health Organisation has not recommended a maximum daily intake for salmon. In addition, WHO in a statement of clarification issued on 5 January 2001, advised that contrary to media reports, it has not received or reviewed purported data showing higher levels of chemicals, including dioxins, in farmed salmon compared to wild varieties.