§ 15. Mr. Hollisasked the Minister of Food whether, in view of the large quantities of pig meat now coming into bacon factories, he will permit the diversion of pigs from bacon into pork.
§ Mr. WebbI would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Mr. Black) on 22nd November.
§ Mr. HollisCan the Minister give a guarantee that there will be adequate facilities in the factories to deal with the meat that is sent to them?
§ Mr. WebbThat is a matter on which I have been in recent contact with the industry. We are doing our best to solve their problems.
§ 30. Mr. Thornton-Kemsleyasked the Minister of Food if he is aware of the difficulties which retail butchers are still experiencing in obtaining pork for the manufacture of pork sausages; and if he will arrange for supplies to be made available to them at manufacturing prices as they are to the meat manufacturers, [...]ie makers and pork butchers.
§ Mr. WebbI know of these difficulties. But our stocks do not enable us to distribute manufacturing pork to general butchers at present.
§ Mr. Thornton-Kemsleyis not one of the troubles that the Ministry's regulations permit pork sides of up to 110 lbs. to be passed to retail butchers, that these sides very often require considerable trimming, and that these trimmings can only go for manufacturing purposes so that butchers are put at an unfair disadvantage compared with the manufacturers?
§ Mr. WebbThe trouble is the shortage of pork. We have, in fact, been producing pigs primarily for bacon and not for pork, which, I think, is understood, and it would not be practicable at present to distribute the small amount of pork between 45,000 to 50,000 small butchers It simply would not work.