Environment Secretary George Eustice has voted against his own proposals to protect food standards says Labour

Friday, 6 March 2020 14:51

When the now Environment Secretary was on the backbenches in 2019, he tabled an amendment to the Agriculture Bill to try to protect the UK's high animal welfare and food hygiene standards by banning the sale of lower standard foods such as chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-injected beef. Labour today tabled the exact same amendment to the government's new bill but Eustice voted it down. Other Tory MPs, including Farming Minister Victoria...Request free trial

Labour today tabled the exact same amendment to the government's new bill but Eustice voted it down.

Other Tory MPs, including Farming Minister Victoria Prentis, also voted against it.

Luke Pollard MP, Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary, said:

"This government is in chaos. Labour used the exact same text put forward by the Secretary of State when he was a backbencher, that would have protected our food standards. Now he and the Tories have voted it down.

“The Conservatives are tying themselves in knots to get a damaging trade deal with Donald Trump, whatever the cost.

“If this amendment was good enough for the Environment Secretary when he wrote it, why does he now oppose it?”

Ends

Notes to editors

Here is a copy of the amendment in question

NC30	To move the following Clause— “Prohibition on the sale of certain animals and animal products: substances (1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), no person shall sell or supply for human consumption any animal— (a) which contains or to which there has been administered— (i) a Class I prohibited substance listed in paragraph 1 of Schedule [Prohibited substances], (ii) a Class II prohibited substance listed in paragraph 2 of Schedule [Prohibited substances], (iii) a Class III prohibited substance listed in paragraph 3 of Schedule [Prohibited substances], or (iv) a Class IV prohibited substance listed in paragraph 4 of Schedule [Prohibited substances], unless that substance was administered in accordance with subsection (4); (b) that is an aquaculture animal to which— (i) a Class II prohibited substance listed in paragraph 2 of Schedule [Prohibited substances], (ii) a Class III prohibited substance listed in paragraph 3 of Schedule [Prohibited substances], or (iii) a Class IV prohibited substance listed in paragraph 4 of Schedule [Prohibited substances], has been administered; (c) which contains a substance specified by the Secretary of State in regulations under subsection (5)(a) at a concentration exceeding the maximum residue limit; or (d) to which a medicinal product has been administered if the withdrawal period for that product has not expired. (2) No person may sell or supply for human consumption any animal product which is derived wholly or partly from an animal the sale or supply of which is prohibited under subsection (1). (3) Nothing in paragraph (1)(d) shall prohibit the sale before the end of the withdrawal period of any high-value horse to which has been administered allyl trenbolone or a beta-agonist in accordance with regulation 5 of the Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits)(England and Scotland) Regulations 2015, provided that the type and date of treatment was entered on the horse’s passport by the veterinary surgeon directly responsible for the treatment. (4) The prohibitions in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to the sale of an animal, or of an animal product derived wholly or partly from an animal to which has been administered a compliant veterinary medicinal product— (a) containing testosterone, progesterone or a derivative of these substances which readily yields the parent compound on hydrolysis after absorption at the site of application, if the administration is in accordance with regulation 26 of the Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015; (b) containing allyl trenbolone or a beta-agonist, if the administration is in accordance with regulation 27 of the Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015; (c) having oestrogenic action (but not containing oestradiol 17β or its ester- like derivatives), androgenic action or gestagenic action, if the administration is in accordance with regulation 28 of the Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015. (5) The Secretary of State may make regulations— (a) specifying for the purposes of subsection (1)(c) maximum residue limits for pharmacologically active substances, and (b) adding one or more substances to any of the classes of prohibited substances in Schedule [Prohibited substances]. (6) Regulations under subsection (5) shall be made by statutory instrument, and any such statutory instrument may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament. (7) For the purposes of this section— a veterinary medicinal product is a compliant veterinary medicinal product if it complies with the requirements of Regulation 25 of the Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015), and “withdrawal period” shall have the meaning given in Regulation 2 of the Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015). (8) Regulations 9 and 10 of the Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015 are revoked.”
NC31	To move the following Clause- “Prohibition on sale: hygiene (1) No person shall sell or supply any animal which has been treated for the purposes of removal of surface contamination with a substance other than potable water. (2) No person shall sell or supply any animal product which is derived wholly or partly from an animal which has been treated for the purposes of removal of surface contamination with a substance other than potable water.”
NC32	To move the following Clause— “Prohibition on sale: stocking densities (1) No person shall sell or supply any chicken, any part of a chicken or any product which is partly or wholly derived from a chicken unless the condition in subsection (2) is met. (2) The condition is that the stocking density in any house in which the chicken was reared— (a) did not exceed 33 kilograms per m2 of usable area, or (b) did not exceed 39 kilograms per m2 of usable area if the requirements of subsection (3) were met. (3) The requirements of this subsection are that the keeper must (a) maintain and, on request, make available to the Secretary of State, documentation in the house giving a detailed description of the production systems, in particular information on technical details of the house and its equipment, including— (i) a plan of the house including the dimensions of the surfaces occupied by the chickens; (ii) ventilation and any relevant cooling and heating system (including their location), and a ventilation plan, detailing target air quality parameters (such as airflow, air speed and temperature); (iii) feeding and watering systems (and their location); (iv) alarm and backup systems in the event of a failure of any equipment essential for the health and well-being of the chickens; (v) floor type and litter normally used; and (vi) records of technical inspections of the ventilation and alarm systems; (b) keep up to date the documentation referred to in subparagraph (a); (c) ensure that each house is equipped with ventilation and, if necessary, heating and cooling systems designed, constructed and operated in such a way that— (i) the concentration of ammonia does not exceed 20 parts per million and the concentration of carbon dioxide does not exceed 3,000 parts per million, when measured at the level of the chickens’ heads; (ii) when the outside temperature measured in the shade exceeds 30°C, the inside temperature does not exceed the outside temperature by more than 3°C; and (iii) when the outside temperature is below 10°C, the average relative humidity measured inside the house during a continuous period of 48 hours does not exceed 70%. (4) In the case of a chicken reared in a house which is not in the United Kingdom, it shall be a requirement upon the importer to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State that— (a) documentation equivalent to that specified in subsection (3) was maintained by the keeper and was available for supply to the appropriate regulatory authority, and (b) the conditions under which the chicken was reared were equivalent to, or better than, those set out in subsections (2) and (3). (5) For the purposes of this section, “chicken” shall mean a conventionally reared meat chicken.”
NS1	To move the following Schedule— “Prohibited substances 1 Class I prohibited substances Aristolochia spp. and preparations thereof Chloramphenicol Chloroform Chlorpromazine Colchicine Dapsone Dimetridazole Metronizadole Nitrofurans (including furazolidone) Ronizadole 2 Class II prohibited substances Thyrostatic substances Stilbenes, stilbene derivatives, their salts and esters Oestradiol 17β and its ester-like derivatives 3 Class III prohibited substances Beta-agonists 4 Class IV prohibited substances Substances having oestrogenic (other than oestradiol 17β or its ester-like derivatives), androgenic or gestagenic action.”