Impact of Medicated Grit on Grouse Moors in Food Chain

Your request was about the following information:

On December 19, 2019, the Grouse Moor Management Group published its final report.

It had a recommendation for Food Standards Scotland, that can be found here: https://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/20210415131742/http://www.gov.scot/publications/grousemoor-management-group-report-scottish-government/pages/7/

It suggested: "Food Standards Scotland should undertake work to identify the levels of flubendazole residues in grouse in the food chain that are judged inimical to human health and establish appropriate monitoring."

Please could you confirm:

1. Has Food Standards Scotland taken action as a response of this recommendation. If so, please could you supply any outputs produced by Food Standards Scotland from this work. In particular, please supply materials produced since January 2019, that demonstrate the levels of flubendazole residue in grouse in the food chain that are judged to be inimical to human health.

2. Please could you provide details of any monitoring that has been undertaken since the report was published. In particular please provide materials that outline the scope of the monitoring (e.g how many tests, where and when tests took place, results, recommended actions etc).

3. If the recommended actions have not been implemented, please could you supply any recorded materials held by FSS that outline the response provided to other civil servants, politicians, or  government ministers, or third party stakeholders that may have made relevant inquiries since the report was released.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), an Executive Agency of the UK Government Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), is responsible for the monitoring of veterinary residues in food, including flubendazole residue in grouse. VMD undertakes an annual sampling programme and if any food-related issues are identified relating to Scotland the VMD inform Food Standards Scotland (FSS) who undertake a risk assessment to determine any action that may be required to protect consumers.

Since the Grouse Moor Management Group (GMMG) Report was published on 19 December 2019, VMD sample results for red grouse tested for anthelmintics, including flubendazole, have not exceeded Maximum Residue Levels. We have received no notifications from VMD indicating that levels identified pose a risk to human health. No risk assessments or further action have therefore been carried out by FSS.

For information the Scottish Government’s response to the GMMG report, including the specific recommendation you reference regarding monitoring levels of flubendazole residues in grouse in the food chain and the role of VMD and FSS in this regard, was published in November 2020 and is available at: Grouse Moor Management Group recommendations: Scottish Government response - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The VMD annual reports on residues of veterinary medicines in food can be found on the residue page on gov.uk. These reports show that red grouse (liver) samples have been tested for flubendazole since 2015, and in that time none have exceeded the Maximum Residue Levels of 400 µg/kg for liver.

FSS does not hold any further information on the results of VMD sampling for flubendazole residues in grouse. Please contact VMD directly for any further details you may require.