BRITAIN has complied with a demand from the European Commission to provide it with details of tests that revealed potentially dangerous levels of chemicals in powdered baby milk, a Commission spokesman said yesterday.
The move puts the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) in the embarrassing position of having provided Brussels with information it has so far refused to release in Britain.
While the Commission said its demand for information had been met, it could not immediately confirm whether Britain had named the nine brands of powdered milk that had been found to contain unauthorised levels of phthalates chemicals that have been linked to fertility problems.
MAFF has refused to name the companies involved on the grounds that it would do enormous commercial damage when there is no threat to babies' health. The stance has been attacked by consumer and medical groups.
Commission experts yesterday began analysing the British test results to assess whether any action is necessary.
The shadow consumer affairs minister, Mr Nigel Griffiths, said it was "a farce" that the government had supplied the European Commission with full details of baby milk contamination while refusing to release the information to its own consumers.
"This is bizarre. We're supposed to be boycotting Europe, yet they are being handed over information by the government while our own consumers are being boycotted.
"Lunacy has taken over the government's handling of this. Why is no Cabinet Minister handling this?"