To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what quantity of peanuts containing aflatoxin levels above one part per billion were imported into Britain in 1987; and if he will list and quantify the uses to which they were put.

This information is not available.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what criteria his Department uses in assessing the appropriate levels of aflatoxin permitted in peanuts for (a) human and (b) animal consumption.

The proposed statutory limit of 0·01 mg/kg for aflatoxin in peanuts for human consumption recommended by the independent Food Advisory Committee reflects the policy of reducing aflatoxin contamination to the lowest level that is technologically achievable by good manufacturing practice.So far as consumption by animals is concerned, maximum limits are set in EC Directives the aims of which include the protection of human and animal health. The levels in feedingstuffs aim to ensure no transference of aflatoxin into milk supplies.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give details of the sampling methods used by his Department in assessing the levels of aflatoxin contained in peanuts imported into Britain.

The sampling plan used by port health authorities to monitor the levels of aflatoxins in peanuts intended for human consumption was designed by the Tropical Products Institute and is published in the Ministry's food surveillance paper No. 18 on mycotoxins, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.