§ Mr. PETOasked the right hon. Gentleman whether he has ascertained if a part or all of the shipment of Chinese pork that was condemned and refused landing at Liverpool and London has been transhipped to the Isle of Man; whether it is being there made into bacon; whether any of such bacon is being shipped to London and Liverpool; whether, as it is impossible for experts to determine by examination if bacon has been made from diseased carcases or not, there is any means of preventing bacon, if made from diseased carcases of Chinese pigs in the Isle of Man being sold in this country as English-cured, and what steps will be taken to prevent it?
§ Mr. BURNSThe consignment of pork referred to in the question was not condemned in Liverpool and London, as being unfit for food. So far as my information goes, it was subjected to careful examination by British experts in China before dispatch, any doubtful carcases being rejected. This circumstance, and the ordinary inspection at the ports to which food imports are subjected, seem sufficient to remove any apprehension.
§ Mr. FELLIs it not a fact that the authorities refused to allow this pork to be landed in London, and that it was then sent to the Isle of Man?
§ Mr. BURNSThe admission of this pork into London was refused not because it was unsound or unclean or diseased, but because it did not comply with the technical condition that it should be completely 1226 whole, and that the backbone should not be taken out.
§ Mr. FELLIs it not a fact that if the pork is not completely whole and arrives in that condition the authorities will not allow it to be landed in London?
§ Mr. BURNSThey will not allow these particular carcases to be landed in England or Wales unless they are whole.
§ Mr. FLAVINWill the right hon. Gentleman make inquiries into the nature and the quality of the food on which these Chinese pigs are fed?
§ Mr. BURNSThese pigs are not the black razor-backed scavenger pigs, but are white pigs, fed on rice in the Yang-tse Valley.
§ Mr. REMNANTIs it not a fact that these rice-fed pigs axe so fed for only one or two days before they are slaughtered?
§ Mr. KILBRIDEIs it not a fact that a certain portion of the carcase in these pigs is removed in order to prevent the effectual detection of tuberculosis?
§ Mr. BURNSNo; on the contrary, we insist that the carcases shall be landed whole so that we shall have the opportunity of seeing whether the pigs have had that disease.
§ Mr. KILBRIDEIs it not a fact that a certain portion of the carcase is removed so that tuberculosis cannot be detected?
§ Mr. BURNSOh, no. The reason the importers remove that part of the pig is a commercial one, because it enables them to get a greater quantity of more profitable pork without the backbone than with it.
§ Mr. FELLasked the right hon. Gentleman what steps he is taking to prevent the introduction into this country of the Chinese pork which is being converted into bacon in the Isle of Man, after having been twice rejected at ports in this country?
§ Mr. BURNSAny bacon which is imported into this country is liable to inspection by the medical officer of health, and he is empowered to seize it if, in his opinion, it is unsound, unwholesome, or unfit for human consumption.
§ Mr. FELLMay I ask if the right hon. Gentleman is aware that twenty-five bales of this bacon made from pork which was not allowed to be landed in this country has already been received at the Union Cold Storage in London?
§ Mr. REESIs it suggested that an expert can tell by examination of these carcases whether they were rice-fed or how long they were fed?
§ Mr. BURNSWe took the precaution to consult the British Consul in the neighbourhood where these pigs are fed, and in the district from which they are despatched to this country, and we are satisfied that the suggestions made by various hon. Members are unfounded.
§ Mr. ROWLAND HUNTIn the case of bacon imported into this country can the inspectors tell whether it has come from pigs suffering from tuberculosis?
§ Mr. REMNANTWill the right hon. Gentleman let us see a copy of the report which he has received from the British Consul dealing with this question?
§ Mr. BURNSI will read it to the hon. Member. In August, 1909, the Consul-General at Hankow reported—
That the animals exported were entirely different from the ordinary scavenger pigs, and were of a special breed and fed on rice, in the Valley of the Yang-tse river.
§ Mr. MARKHAMArising out of that answer—
§ Mr. SPEAKEROrder, order. I think we have had enough of pigs for to-day.