EU agriculture ministers yesterday agreed to strengthen the ban on the use of growth promoters in beef despite British opposition.
In the end the British alone voted against the measure, it is their longstanding contention that such a ban is not justified by scientific evidence.
It was crucial not to take measures which would undermine consumer confidence in red meat, said the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Yates.
The European market had witnessed a 10 per cent fall in consumption in the last 10 years and there were limits on what could be exported.
The EU decision, which includes stiffer penalties, complemented the stringent measures taken at national level to halt the use of hormones, the Minister said.
The EU faces a US challenge in the World Trade Organisation over the ban which US sources say costs their beef producers about £60 million a year in lost exports.
This case has been bolstered by Commission backed research three months ago which concluded there was no evidence that properly administered hormones in beef were a danger to the public.
But a Commission spokesman asked yesterday: "How do you control so many millions of producers to ensure that they are used in the proper way? If they are not used in the proper way they can have health implications. The bottom line is that the consumer is king and if consumers say they don't want hormoned beef why should somebody force them to eat it?"
Research is continuing to determine whether injecting growth hormones, such as testosterone and progesterone, damages an animal's health.
The Commission is anxious to curb the misuse of synthetic "beta agonists", or "angel dust", for fattening animals. They should only be used in the medical treatment of horses and pets, it says.
