Day 091 - 17 Feb 95 - Page 38


     
     1        residue, whether there is any detectable residue.  If there
     2        is a detectable residue there is provision to show what the
     3        levels are.  I have to say that in all the time they have
     4        been doing testing, they have never found any residues in
     5        any samples taken from us.
     6
     7   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  How long does that go back?
     8        A.  This probably goes back about three years now.
     9
    10   MS. STEEL:   So prior to that there were no tests for this?
    11        A.  There were no tests for drug residues.  You have to
    12        remember that one of the functions of a veterinarian
    13        working within an organisation is to make sure that the
    14        instructions on the antibiotic are clearly understood and
    15        that people observe the withdrawal period, so there should
    16        not really be an issue of residues anyway.
    17
    18   Q.   Was there not concern about this more than three years ago
    19        or is this a new concern that has been raised?
    20        A.  The concern on antibiotic residues?
    21
    22   Q.   Yes.
    23        A.  No, I think this has been going on.  I mean, there has
    24        always been an awareness and understanding that antibiotic
    25        residues, there is a possibility that they can occur if
    26        drugs are misused.
    27
    28   Q.   But why was testing only started three years ago?
    29        A.  Well, the Ministry of Agriculture chose to start the
    30        programme then.
    31
    32   Q.   You do not know why that was?
    33        A.  I think they wanted to do a general surveillance of the
    34        country to make sure that compounds were being properly
    35        used.
    36
    37   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It may be that you are being asked whether
    38        there was some particular reason which provoked it then?
    39        A.  Well, the reason -----
    40
    41   Q.   A particular concern or a kind of instant, that sort of
    42        thing?
    43        A.  I think the particular concern was that there had been
    44        reports of sulpha drug residues in pigs.
    45
    46   MS. STEEL:   Was that their only concern?
    47        A.  I think there is a general awareness throughout the
    48        world that if you are going to consider the safety of food,
    49        then the testing for antibiotic residues should be part of
    50        that concern.  So, I think the action of the Ministry of 
    51        Agriculture in this country was really a reflection of what 
    52        was happening elsewhere in the world. 
    53
    54        If you look at the requirements, for example, of doing
    55        trade with Japan, for many, many years they have insisted
    56        that all meat supplied to Japan from whatever country is
    57        tested for antibiotic residues because they are aware that
    58        these compounds can be misused in the wrong hands.  So,
    59        this is a concern that has been going on for some while.
    60

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