farming: Lift fish oil ban, say Euro MPs.

EURO MPs have called for the lifting of a ban on feeding fishmeal and fish oil to cattle, goats and sheep.

The European Parliament backed a report by Conservative Euro-MP Struan Stevenson which said there was no scientific evidence that using fishmeal and fish oil in feed for ruminants posed a risk of transmitting BSE - mad cow disease.

The report said strict controls had ensured the safety of the food chain from contamination by dioxins and that fishmeal was rich in essential amino acids which give health benefits to humans and animals. Head of the Fishmeal Information Network, Helge Korsager, said the support of Euro-MPs added pressure to speed up work on establishing official quality controls and standards for restoring fishmeal's reputation.

"We welcome this report, which is based on a mountain of evidence that fishmeal is both a safe and valuable feed ingredient," he said.

"The commission should see this report as a clear signal to accelerate the EU's progress to fully restoring fishmeal to ruminant diets. We have had a stream of inquiries from feed manufacturers asking just how long they must wait for relief from the restrictions on fishmeal use." Lifting the ban has been delayed by months of work on setting a legal framework for doing so and by the need to agree how much unavoidable technical contamination is acceptable.

Most hurdles have been cleared and officials are awaiting scientific trials which could last until the end of the year.

"These restrictions are not only excluding fishmeal from ruminant diets. Zero tolerance is limiting its use in the important pig and poultry feed markets - and at a time when prices are back nearly at 2006 levels, making it a highly competitive ingredient."