EUs avoparcin ban blocked
EUs avoparcin ban blocked
BANNING the use of the antibacterial livestock feed additive, avoparcin, will cost the poultry industry up to £20m a year.
Junior farm minister Angela Browning said the British Poultry Meat Federation estimated the ban, due to come into force on Apr 1, could cause annual production losses of between £10m and £20m.
In a written reply, Mrs Browning said that the UK had voted against the proposal because there was no evidence to support claims that avoparcins use in livestock could be linked to human resistance to the antibiotic vancomycin.
But the UK had supported the commissions proposals to set up a programme to examine the development of antibiotic resistance in humans and animals, she added.
Despite UK opposition, the ban was approved by the ECs standing committee on feedstuffs in December. But last week, when the proposal went to the 20 EU commissioners for formal adoption, it was blocked by British commissioners. *