5 June 2001

NOAH Responds to Organic Lobby Report

The authors of the latest SoilAssociation report clearly do not understand the poultry disease coccidiosis orthe stringent system for authorising and monitoring the use of coccidiostats inpoultry production, says the National Office of Animal Health. The report 'TooHard to Swallow', published on 4 June, is alarmist, confused and misleading.Its use of NOAH quotations shows it to be extremely selective in whatinformation it chooses to make its case.

"The Soil Association is alobbying organisation. It exists to promote the interests of organic farmersand therefore has a vested interest in denigrating conventional food, on whichthe vast majority of the public, especially those with limited incomes, rely,"says NOAH.

It is vital that people are notmisled so they can make choices about the food they eat based on soundknowledge. NOAH welcomes reports that the Food Standards Agency is to convene ameeting on this subject. "We will continue to work with the UK and EUauthorities, and alongside colleagues in the UK food production chain, toensure minimal residues in animal produce while also ensuring the continuedavailability of the animal health products essential to ensure farm animalhealth and welfare," NOAH says.

The report wrongly states that the three highlighted substances (nicarbazin,lasalocid and dimetridazole) have never been properly evaluated. Substancessuch as these are fully regulated, under EU Directive 70/524, aszootechnical feed additives (not veterinary medicines). They are not allowedto be used anywhere in the EU unless approved by the relevant EU Commissionexperts who must determine that they do not endanger animal or human healthnor harm the consumer of livestock produce.

NOAH fully supports residue testingof all animal produce, whether UK produced or imported. To ensure publicconfidence the test results must be publicly reported. It is ironic that it isonly the VMDs openness in publicising test results, for many years, which hasenabled the Soil Association to produce this report.

Although testing of poultry meatand eggs has only been a statutory requirement in the EU since 1998, the UK hasdone this voluntarily (but to the same high standards) for many years."They deserve congratulations not criticism," says NOAH.

The report also quotes results fromGovernment residue testing schemes, without attempting to put them intocontext. For example, 102 kilograms of chicken would need to be eaten each andevery day to exceed the EU safe limit on lasalocid or over 2000 eggs would haveto be consumed each day to surpass the internationally agreed safe nicarbazinlevel.

"NOAH is confident thatcurrent testing procedures prevent unacceptable residues entering the foodchain. Furthermore, thanks to the advances in residue testing, the majority ofthe minute residues detected, highlighted by the Soil Association, are wellbelow the safety levels set by the EU or UK authorities. These themselvesinclude huge safety margins," NOAH says.

NOAH condemns any usage of aproduct outside the clear rules set out for all livestock medicines andzootechnical feed additives, which are designed to prevent any unacceptablelevels occurring in livestock, produce. To assist farmers and vets, NOAHregularly publishes its easy reference booklet Withdrawal Periods for AnimalMedicines, which is sent free of charge to all farm vets.Ends

Notes for Editors

1.     For further informationcontact Roger Cook or Alison Glennon on 020 8367 3131, or e-mail noah@noah.co.uk or visit the NOAHwebsite www.noah.co.uk

2. TheNational Office of Animal Health was formed on 1 January 1986 to represent theUK companies which research, develop, manufacture and market licensed animalhealth products. The association has 37 corporate members and 10 associatemembers. In 2000 NOAH's members accounted for around 95% of the 357 million UKanimal health market, with additional valuable exports.

3. Thetesting regime and the setting of Maximum Residue Limits have huge safetyfactors built on top of the mathematical calculation. MRLs are based on theAcceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for a substance - this ADI is between 100 and1000 times lower than the No Observable Effect Level (NOEL) for a substance andindicates a safe level of consumption for a person consuming the substanceevery day of their life.

A further numerical exampleis that of nicarbazin and chicken liver.

The ADI for nicarbazin is0.4mg/kg bodyweight. A standard 'EU human' weighs 60kg. The highest level ofnicarbazin detected (and this was a one-off) is 7.2mg/kg chicken liver. Thismeans that a person would have to consume 3.3kg of chicken liver at thatexceptionally high residue level every day of their life to reach this limit.Take out the huge safety factor - in this case 500X - and to reach thecalculated NOEL that person would have to eat 1.66 tonnes of chicken liverevery day.

4. The SoilAssociation report 'Too Hard to Swallow' by Richard Young and Alison Craig waspublished on 4 June.