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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether officials from her Department have made inspections of export facilities in endemic avian influenza H5N1 areas from which live birds are despatched to this country.

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

12 December 2005

Reference

31406; 440 c1586W;440 c1586W

House

House of Commons

Avian Influenza

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the (a) significance, and (b) implications of the inconsistency in recorded numbers of the mesia birds batch in which avian influenza was identified, for the effectiveness of the import and quarantine system.

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

5 December 2005

Reference

440 c922W;440 c922W; 32080

House

House of Commons

Avian Influenza

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from what countries mesia species are imported into the UK; and what measures her Department has taken to ascertain the source of the mesias sampled at the quarantine facility in Essex, in whose samples the Avian influenza virus...

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

5 December 2005

Reference

440 c922W;440 c922W; 31062

House

House of Commons

Avian Influenza

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department has taken to minimise the chances of the H5N1 virus entering the UK through the import of live birds; and what changes have been made to (a) the rules for the transport of live...

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

28 November 2005

Reference

440 c8W;440 c8W; 31066

House

House of Commons

Avian Influenza

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the conditions under which the Mesias, in whose samples the avian influenza virus was isolated at the quarantine facility in Essex were imported into this country, with particular reference to (a) the...

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

28 November 2005

Reference

440 c7-8W;440 c7-8W; 31064

House

House of Commons

Bird Imports (Border Procedures)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what procedures are undertaken at border inspection posts to ensure that the documentation accompanying imported captive birds is genuine.

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

28 November 2005

Reference

30723; 440 c9W;440 c9W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the risks of importing disease via illegally imported meat. - Inc ref to Defra report, copies in Library

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

13 January 2005

Reference

205980; 429 c651W;429 c649W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether seized meat imports are tested for disease.

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

13 January 2005

Reference

205983; 429 c651W;429 c649W

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether live cattle imported from mainland Europe are tested for TB infection prior to being imported into the UK.

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

30 March 2004

Reference

419 c1292W;419 c1294W; 158595

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to ensure that plant and timber imports are free from sudden oak death.

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

15 January 2004

For answer on

9 February 2004

Answered on

9 February 2004

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to ensure that plant and timber imports are free from sudden oak death. [149113] Mr. Bradshaw: The Plant Health (Great Britain) Order 1993 (SI 1993/1320, as amended) sets out the controls on the import, movement and keeping of plants within the EU. The Order requires all plants entering the UK from third countries to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate and are subject to inspection at import. For trade within the EU, specific disease control measures are applied at the place of production and plant passports may be issued that travel with consignments allowing their free movement between member states. From May 2002 measures to control the movement of plants susceptible to Phytophthora ramorum into and within the UK where introduced under the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (England) Order 2002. Following the agreement of community wide measures this Order was superseded in November 2002, by the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (England) (No. 2) Order 2002 (SI 2002 No. 2573). The latter applied specific disease control measures at the place of production to rhododendrons and viburnums, the two types of plant which have been most often found to be infected in Europe. Findings of Phytophthora ramorum in imported and UK origin plants are of concern and inspections at UK nurseries and ports of entry are to be stepped up to ensure that all consignments of plants moved into and within the UK are free from Phytophthora ramorum and meet plant passport requirements. Any consignment found to be infected, or not to have the correct documentation, will, as now, be destroyed. The regulations controlling imports of wood and wood products are set out in the Plant Health (Forestry) (Great Britain) Order 1993 (SI 1993/1283, as amended). These require that imports of wood of oak from North American countries are treated to protect against, in particular, another fungal organism Ceratocystis fagacearum, the cause of Oak wilt disease. The Forestry Commission concluded that these controls are effective against Phytophthora ramorum but that they needed to be extended to bring under regulation wood from other trees that are known to host this pathogen and which originate in the USA. The Forestry Commissioners therefore implemented emergency measures in June 2002 by way of the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (Great Britain) Order 2002 (SI 2002 No. 1478). This Order was superseded in November 2002, to implement the European Community measures against Phytophthora ramorum, by the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) (Great Britain) (No. 2) Order 2002 (SI 2002 No. 2589). The Forestry Commission enforces the controls on wood and wood products through its system of import inspections carried out at ports of entry.

Date

9 February 2004

Reference

417 c1153-4W; 149113

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Statement on instructions she has issued to (a) local authority environmental health departments, (b) the State Veterinary Service and (c) the Meat Hygiene Service in respect of actions to be taken to limit the spread of avian flu; how much imported food has been (a) condemned and (b) impounded or...

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

27 January 2004

For answer on

6 February 2004

Answered on

6 February 2004

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what instructions she has issued to (a) local authority environmental health departments, (b) the State Veterinary Service and (c) the Meat Hygiene Service in respect of actions to be taken to limit the spread of avian flu; [152171] (2) how much imported food has been (a) condemned and (b) impounded or otherwise detained as a result of suspected contamination with avian influenza virus; [152172] (3) what assessment she has made of whether the reported deaths of persons suffering from avian influenza resulted from (a) the handling of (i) live poultry and (ii) poultry meat and products and (b) the consumption of poultry meat; [152173] (4) what tests are available to detect the avian influenza virus in imported food; whether screening is being carried out on existing stocks of imported food; and what the results were; [152174] (5) what discussions she has had with the World Health Organisation on control measures necessary to limit the spread of avian influenza; [152175] (6) what assessment she has made of the likelihood of the avian influenza virus mutating in a way which will increase its pathogenicity; [152177] (7) whether the avian influenza virus is pathogenic to man; and whether it acts in concert with other pathogens to give rise to synergistic infection; [152178] (8) what the route of infection of avian influenza is; and whether it is classified as a food-borne disease; [152179] (9) what her assessment is of current risks to health from the (a) handling and (b) consumption of imported chicken meat in relation to avian influenza. [152180] Mr. Bradshaw: As soon as the outbreak of avian influenza in Thailand, the only affected country with which we have regular commercial trade, was notified we put in place a prohibition on imports of poultry meat and uncooked poultry meat products from Thailand derived from animals slaughtered after 1 January 2004. Details were sent to all Border Inspection Posts, local authorities, the State Veterinary Service, Meat Hygiene Service and to HM Customs. All the enforcement bodies concerned deal with such safeguard measures on a regular basis and are familiar with the procedures and vigilance necessary for dealing with affected products. On 28 January a further prohibition on imports of live birds from affected countries was issued in line with action agreed by member states in the EU and guidance issued to The State Veterinary Service and HM Customs. Prior to this precautionary measure live captive birds, such as falcons and finches, could be imported from the region on the basis of strict controls, including 30-day post import quarantine and testing for avian influenza. We are not aware of any food having been condemned as a result of avian influenza. Currently 31 consignments amounting to 489 tonnes of Thai poultry meat are detained at Border Inspection Posts, awaiting the required additional health certification. The World Health Organisation are investigating a `possible' human-to-human transmission of the disease in two sisters in Vietnam, but it is too early to say for definite whether or not this is the case. Human-to- human transmission of avian influenza is in any case rare and there have been no known cases of human-to- human transmission in this outbreak. The most likely source of infection resulting in human deaths from avian influenza remains in those known to have had direct contact with infected poultry. Controls on production of poultry meat for export from Thailand, in place before the outbreak was confirmed, mean that the risk of infected meat being imported is very low. The normal tests for avian influenza are used to detect the disease in live animals, not meat. Testing of foods for microbial pathogens is seldom helpful in protecting public health because, if present at all, they are likely to be present in very small numbers and are not distributed evenly throughout foods. This means tests would be unlikely to detect the virus unless the level of sampling was impractically high and very expensive. Defra has had no discussions with the World Health Organisation on this but the global strategy recommended by WHO includes the following: the rapid elimination of H5N1 infection in bird populations by culling; protection of those who are working with, and culling, chickens to protect their health and to reduce the risk of human infection; improve surveillance of human respiratory disease and rapid case detection; and development and production of a vaccine. This is a highly complicated process and four months is considered a minimum period before vaccine could be available. Additional issues of capacity and distribution would need to be resolved. The WHO has said that, on the basis of presently available data, it does not conclude that any processed poultry products (whole refrigerated or frozen carcasses and products derived from them) and eggs in, or arriving from, areas currently experiencing outbreaks of avian influenza (H5N1) in poultry flocks, pose a risk to public health. In the twentieth century there were four major influenza pandemics in 1918, 1957, 1968 and 1977. There is evidence suggesting that the 1957 and 1968 pandemics resulted from a major change to the previously circulating human virus by incorporation of genes from an avian influenza virus. Direct spread of the assumed progenitor avian virus to humans was not reproduced experimentally and it is thought that pigs, which are susceptible to both human and avian influenza viruses, may have played a role in supporting both viruses to allow gene re-assortment to take place. Most avian flu viruses do not affect man, or cause very mild illness, such as mild influenza-like illness or conjunctivitis. Occasionally strains of avian flu emerge which are particularly nasty. The human cases in Asia have been severe respiratory infections with a high mortality. The Food Standards Agency have advised that there is no risk of acquiring the Avian influenza virus through eating poultry meat. They consider the risk of infection through handling poultry meat is very low. There are no substantiated reports of people becoming infected through these routes.

Date

6 February 2004

Reference

417 c1107-9W; 152171;152172;152173;152174;152175;152177;152178;152179;152180

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of cod sold in the British retail market is caught by British registered boats. - Inc figures.

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

28 January 2004

Reference

417 c392W; 150303

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many plants have been imported without passports in each year since passports were introduced.

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

20 January 2004

Reference

416 c1196W; 149260

House

House of Commons

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what additional seed inspection procedures have been put in place following the recent outbreak of ring rot at (a) domestic sites and (b) points of import. - Including figures.

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

20 November 2003

Reference

140321; 413 c1241W;413 c1237W

House

House of Commons

Librarians' tools

Type

House

Session

Year

Department

Member

Primary member

Answering member

Legislative stage

Legislation

Subject

Publisher