Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to align the UK’s import policy with forthcoming EU measures prohibiting products from regions where antibiotics are used for growth promotion.

The Government has begun negotiations with the EU on an SPS agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and removing barriers to trade for British producers and retailers.

The agreement will cover SPS standards and controls and also wider agrifood rules related to food labelling, organics, key marketing standards and compositional standards - as well as pesticides.

Detail as to what will be included in the scope of the agreement remains subject to negotiations, and we will not be providing a running commentary.

The use of antibiotics for growth promoters has been banned in the UK and the EU since 2006. With good farming practices, the UK does not consider that using antibiotics for growth promotion is necessary and strongly advocates for phasing out the use of medically important antibiotics for growth promotion globally, in line with Codex standards and WOAH guidelines.