The NPA estimates that between 70 - 90 per cent of piglet diets contain zinc oxide at therapeutic levels.

Announcement welcomed by pig producers

The European Committee is to reconsider its recommendation to withdraw veterinary medicines containing zinc oxide, following a number of appeals from across the EU.

In December, the EU Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP) called for a ban on zinc oxide in response to concerns over its risk to the environment.

The committee claimed that the treatment benefits of zinc oxide for the prevention of diarrhoea in pigs did not outweigh the environmental risk associated with their use.

In light of recent fightback, the CVMP has decided to reevaluate its opinion, suggesting that this will be reached by the beginning of April. Once the final opinion is published, the EU Commission will begin the formal decision-making process.

Welcoming the news, National Pig Association (NPA) chief executive Zoe Davis said: “We will continue to argue that the huge benefits of using zinc oxide in piglet feed far outweigh any environmental costs, which can be mitigated by either adopting a regional approach or reducing inclusion levels."

Last week, the National Pig Association (NPA) issued a briefing to the VMD - which represents the UK on the CVMP - outlining the impact of zinc oxide ban on the pig industry.

The NPA estimates that between 70 - 90 per cent of piglet diets contain zinc oxide at therapeutic levels, meaning a ban would cause ‘widespread deterioration in pig health and welfare’.

"Losing medicinal zinc oxide would seriously hamper the ability of the pig sector to further reduce its use of antibiotics. An increased use of antibiotics above their current levels may, in turn, result in further development of bacterial resistance, jeopardising the health of both animals and humans," the NPA briefing said.

The briefing also addressed concerns about environmental pollution from the use of zinc oxide. It pointed out that the application rate of zinc oxide onto UK soils from pig slurry is estimated to be well below the limit applied by Defra and the Environment Agency.

It concluded: "NPA is strongly against any ban on the therapeutic use of zinc oxide and instead would favour either a regionalised application of policy or an approach that reduces the inclusion levels of zinc oxide to minimise environmental risk without jeopardising pig health and welfare."