European food safety commissioner David Byrne told the European Parliament he was looking into a ban on one product and phasing out the three others still in use following scientific advice on the matter.

He declined to name the drug in question, but EU officials said it was avilamycin, an antibiotic growth promoter made by the Elanco Animal Health unit of US pharmaceuticals giant Eli Lily, and marketed under the brand name Maxus.

Byrne, who under Romano Prodi's new commission has taken over animal health matters from Europe's farm commissioner Franz Fischler, told Euro MPs there were four antibiotic growth promoters still authorised for use in animal feed in the European Union.

``The (EU's) Scientific Steering Committee has advised a ban...I am currently considering the case for a ban on one of these,'' he said.``I am also reflecting on how to implement the scientists' recommendation to phase out the remaining three antibiotics.''

EU scientists have called for use of antibiotic drugs in general to be cut back because the bacteria which the drugs are used to fight are becoming increasingly resistant.

EU officials said a discussion was still continuing between the EU executive and member states, but that a proposal to ban avilamycin, which is used in poultry and pig feed, could be made before the end of the year. The phase-out of the other drugs could be done over a number of years.

Antibiotics are regularly added to animal feed as a way of keeping livestock healthy and boosting meat yields. They differ from growth-promoting hormones, banned in the EU and the subject of high-profile trade row with the United States.

Elanco's public affairs manager Dennis Erpelding said the company's product was completely safe and Byrne's move, based on the principle that a trade embargo can be justified by one party's interpretation of science, sent out a worrying signal.

``Scientifically this product is very safe for animal use,'' he told Reuters. ``We look at the new Prodi Commission and see the same old decision- making process -- walking away from science and using the ``Precautionary Principle '' with no transparency.''

He said a similar compound to avilamycin, or one ``in the same chemical class'' had been developed for use on humans, but added he thought this would not be on the market until 2006.

Fischler banned four farm drugs over similar fears from July this year, drawing criticism from farmers and industry.

The initial ban hit products manufactured by Pfizer, Alpharma, Rhone Poulenc and Elanco, and was estimated to have cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars in lost sales.

Farmers complained that without access to antibiotics they risked becoming uncompetitive on world markets.

But according to EU officials, the scientific evidence is clear. EU scientists in May highlighted the fact that use of the drugs in animal feed could make similar life-saving compounds less effective for humans as bacteria which cause illnesses such as pneumonia are becoming resistant to the drugs.

Byrne's move forms part of an overall strategy to tighten up controls on animal feed in the wake of the dioxin crisis in Belgium earlier this year, when contaminated fats and oils were used in feed, sparking a global food safety alert.

Byrne told the parliament he would be proposing legislation forcing all manufacturers of animal feed and feed ingredients to have official authorisation.