Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to detail any analysis that has been carried out into food from animals that have been fed the Bovaer additive.
Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs: All authorised feed additives undergo rigorous safety assessment by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS). This ensures products are safe and appropriate for the UK market. Bovaer has been authorised for use in the UK for all milk producing and breeding ruminant animals by Ministers across the nations based on the FSA/FSS recommendations and supporting evidence. It is also authorised for use in the EU for dairy and breeding cows, following a similar risk assessment by the European Food Safety Authority. Experts in the UK and EU agree that its use poses no safety concerns to consumers, animals or the environment when used as instructed.
In summary, FSA has concluded that milk from cows given Bovaer, a feed additive used to reduce methane emissions, is safe to drink and note that the additive is metabolised by the cows so does not pass into the milk. Further information is provided by the FSA in the link below:
https://food.blog.gov.uk/2024/12/05/bovaer-cow-feed-additive-explained/
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