Brussels, 25/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Monday the European Commission presented proposals to phase out by 2006 the authorisations of the four antibiotic feed additives that can still be sued in animal feed (for poultry and pigs) as growth promoters (monensin sodium, salinomycin sodium, avilamycin and flavophospholipol) and to introduce a simplified and more binding new procedure for authorising the marketing of new additives for animal feed, on the basis of maximum residue levels (MRLs).
- Phasing out antibiotics. Mr Byrne pointed out that the four substances to be banned from 2006 onwards from animal feed have already been banned from use in human medicine. The long phase-out period will be used to find non-antibiotic substitutes. He explained that MRLs would be set for the active substance in the additive. In the case of coccidiostats - which are feed additives used to treat infections caused by a micro-organism in poultry and which will not be banned - stricter measures will be introduced. A new dossier for re-evaluation within a four-year period will be presented and MRLs will be set to avoid risks to human or animal health. Non-EU Member States wanting to export products containing antibiotics to the Community will have to respect the MRLs. The EU is not authorised to ban the "routine" use of antibiotics.
- Clear and transparent authorisation procedure. The new procedure would see the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) evaluating the dossier submitted by a company and proposing maximum residue levels to be set in the legislation authorising the feed additive. If the additive complies with safety and other requirements, the Commission (within three months of receipt of the EFSA opinion) will propose a draft regulation authorising the additive for a ten-year period and setting MRLs for the active substance in the additive. All authorisations would be renewable for a ten-year period upon application to the EFSA at least one year before the expiry date. Companies marketing feed additives already authorised under existing legislation will need to notify the EFSA accordingly and have to submit applications for re-evaluation and re-authorisation within a seven year period of the regulation coming into force, or one year before the expiry date of the existing authorisation.
The new rules will list additives (like flavours and vitamins used in animal feed and drinking water) in five broad categories - technological additives (e.g. preservatives), sensory additives (eg flavours, colourings), nutritional additives (eg vitamins), zootechnical additives (eg gut flora improvers, non-microbial growth promoters) and coccidiostats (additives to prevent poultry diseases).
