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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he last discussed with his European counterparts imports of American beef containing artificial growth hormones.

We are in regular contact with our European counterparts on sanitary and phytosanitary matters. We will not compromise on issues such as animal welfare and the standards of produce when we leave the EU. During both November 2016 and January 2017 Agriculture and Fish Council, the EU’s Free Trade Agreement negotiations were discussed, which included the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and considerations around food standards and beef containing growth hormones.