16 April 2010

Cobaii români sunt mai flămânzi


http://dacianasarbu.wordpress.com/ :

“Bruxelles, 15 aprilie 2010

Eurodeputata PSD Daciana Sarbu, membra a Comisiei pentru mediu, sanatate publica si siguranta alimentara a Parlamentului European (ENVI) a trimis saptamana aceasta o intrebare lamuritoare Autoritatii Europene pentru Siguranta Alimentara (European Food Safety Authority-EFSA) cu privire la dosarul sensibil al fungicidelor, care facuse anterior obiectul unei interpelari a Comisiei Europene de catre Daciana Sarbu.

EFSA i-a raspuns miercuri europarlamentarului roman, mentionand, printre altele, ca va oferi o concluzie finala privind noua substanta activa BAS 650F in 2011/2012. Doamna Sarbu considera ca este necesara interzicerea testarii acestei substante in Romania pana la concluzia EFSA privind evaluarile de risc ; “romanii nu trebuie sa fie cobai in Uniunea Europeana“, a declarat joi deputata europeana.

Comisia a mandatat EFSA sa realizeze o revizuire (‘peer review’) a evaluarii de risc pentru toate noile substante active pentru care a fost adoptata o Decizie vizand caracterul complet al dosarului dupa 1 iulie 2002. In consecinta, in conformitate cu mandatul sau, EFSA va realiza o revizuire a evaluarii de risc pentru BAS 650F si va prezenta concluziile. In materie de termene in acest sens, EFSA a primit Proiectul initial de raport de evaluare (Draft Assessment Report – DAR) pentru BAS 650F de la statul membru Raportor (Olanda) in septembrie 2009“, afirma EFSA.

Intre timp, EFSA a fost informata de raportor ca se afla in curs de pregatire o actualizare a DAR, care va fi trimisa EFSA spre finalul anului 2010. In consecinta, EFSA intentioneaza sa realizeze revizuirea evaluarii de risc si sa ofere concluzia sa privind noua substanta activa BAS 650F in 2011/2012“, se arata in raspunsul Autoritatii Europene pentru Siguranta Alimentara.

In plus, Olanda a aplicat, pentru setarea de niveluri reziduale maxime temporare, BAS 650F pentru un numar de produse. EFSA a evaluat aceasta aplicatie intr-o Opinie (‘reasoned opinion’) -anexata- si a conchis ca nivelurile maxime reziduale propuse sunt suficient de sprijinite de date iar evaluarea de risc pentru dieta nu a revelat o potentiala ingrijorare pentru sanatatea consumatorilor“, conchide EFSA.

In intrebarea sa de clarificare catre EFSA, doamna Sarbu in care a amintit ingrijorarile legate de caracterul toxic al acestui fungicid precum si demersul realizat anterior pe langa Comisia Europeana. Deputata europeana a solicitat un raspuns cu privire la:

1. existenta vreunui motiv pentru care consumatorii romani sa se teama de un posibil rezultat in detrimentul sanatatii lor dupa consumarea de fructe si legume care au fost tratate cu fungicide pe baza de Initium;

2. existenta a suficiente teste care sa contrazica relatarile media conform carora Initium provoaca cancer;

3. faptul ca aceste produse sunt testate abia acum pentru prima data si daca acest lucru ar trebui sa fie o cauza de ingrijorare pentru consumatorii romani;

4. obligatia pentru producatori de a mentiona clar pe etichetele produselor folosirea unor asemenea fungicide, din moment ce produsul nu a fost testat in alt stat membru.

Noi, cei din Romania, asteptam un raspuns clar, neambiguu ca aceste fungicide nu ridica amenintari la adresa sanatatii umane, iar informatia existenta pana acum nu sugereaza asta. Oamenii se tem ca, in numele competitivitatii si al eficientei in agricultura, sunt sacrificate interesele pe termen lung ale consumatorilor“, mai afirma doamna Sarbu in mesajul catre EFSA.

Daciana Sarbu a primit, saptamana trecuta, raspunsul Comisiei Europene la intrebarea scrisa privind fungicidul cu continut de Initium. Doamna Sarbu atrasese atentia asupra faptului ca Romania este prima tara din lume care a omologat temporar, pentru o perioada de trei ani, fungicide pe baza de Initium -o substanta chimica toxica-, care vor fi utilizate in culturile de vita de vie, cartofi, rosii, castraveti si ceapa. CE a fost intrebata ce masuri trebuie luate pentru a se asigura ca normele privind protectia si informarea consumatorilor sunt respectate in timpul testarilor de noi produse neomologate in statele membre”.

Scrisoarea adresata EFSA de Daciana Sarbu

European Food Safety Authority

Largo N. Palli, 5/A, 43121 Parma, Italy

“Dear Sir / Madam,

I am addressing you on a food safety issue that is currently of great concern to the Romanian people that I represent as an MEP.

As you are most certainly aware, Romania must this year put to experimental use a product manufactured by a German company. This is a fungicide, containing an extremely toxic chemical substance called Initium, which will be used in the growing of vines, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions.

Great public concern is generated by the fact that Romania is the first country in the world to have granted temporary authorisation, in record time, for Initium‑based fungicides for a period of three years. Consumers fear the fact that this is a highly toxic product and its toxicity might be transferred to the fruit and vegetables on their table, without so much as a warning label. There have been quite a few media reports suggesting its possible harmful effects on human health, with repeated use of the products obtained through use of these fungicides.

I have already questioned the European Commission on this matter, and the answer was built around the fact that Member States are allowed to authorise products containing Initium. I quote: “Commission Decision 2009/535/EC recognised in principle the completeness of the data dossier submitted by BASF SE in order to support the inclusion of the active substance with the development code ‘BAS 650F’. This substance has the ISO name ‘ametoctradin’ and is usually referred to under the registered trademark ‘Initium’. Therefore, any Member State can grant provisional authorisations for products containing this substance. When authorising a plant protection product, a Member State must assess whether the high safety standards for human and animal health and the environment as laid down in the European legislation are met for all uses which are granted”[1].

Since the media in Romania haven’t considered this answer explicit enough, and people haven’t found it reassuring enough, I am writing you to find out your official opinion on this matter.

Please clarify:

  1. Is there any reason for Romanian consumers to fear a possible detrimental outcome for their health after consuming fruit and vegetables which have been treated with Initium-based fungicides?
  2. Have there been enough tests which disprove the media reports that Initium is a carcinogen?
  3. Should the fact that these products are only now being tested for the first time be a cause for concern for Romanian consumers?
  4. Since this product hasn’t been tested in another Member State, shouldn’t the producers be compelled to clearly state the use of these fungicides on the product labels?

We in Romania are waiting for a clear, unambiguous answer that these fungicides pose no threat for human health, and the information we have accessed so far hasn’t suggested this. People fear that in the name of competitiveness and efficiency in agriculture, consumers’ long-term health is being sacrificed.

I look forward to your reply,

Daciana Octavia Sarbu MEP”

Raspunsul EFSA

“Dear Ms Sarbu,

The Commission has mandated EFSA to undertake a peer review of the risk assessment for all new active substances for which a Decision on the completeness of the dossier was adopted after 1 July 2002. Therefore, in accordance with the mandate, EFSA will undertake a peer review of the risk assessment for BAS 650F and will deliver its conclusions. In terms of timelines for this work, EFSA received the initial Draft Assessment Report (DAR) for BAS 650F from the rapporteur Member State (the Netherlands) in September 2009. In the meantime, EFSA has since been informed by the rapporteur that an update to the DAR is currently being prepared, and is expected to be submitted to EFSA towards the end of 2010. Therefore, it is EFSA’s intention to undertake the peer review of the risk assessment and to deliver its conclusion on the new active substance BAS 650F in 2011/2012.

In addition, the Netherlands has applied for the setting of temporary maximum residue levels for BAS 650F in a number of commodities. EFSA has evaluated this application in a reasoned opinion (attached) and has concluded that the proposed maximum residue levels are sufficiently supported by data and that the dietary risk assessment did not reveal a potential consumer health concern.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you need any further explanation”.


[1] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getAllAnswers.do?reference=P-2010-1123&language=EN

(sursa: http://dacianasarbu.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/romanii-nu-trebuie-sa-fie-cobai-in-uniunea-europeana/)

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