6. Mrs. Butlerasked the President of the Board of Trade what assurance he will give that the canned tuna, to be imported from Japan under the agreement recently concluded, will be free from radio-active contamination, following the hydrogen bomb tests in the Pacific.
§ Sir D. EcclesI would refer the hon. Lady to the replies given on 2nd April by the Prime Minister to the hon. and learned Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hector Hughes), and on 25th March by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Supply to the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Mr. Swingler).
Mrs. ButlerIn view of the increasing public apprehension about the dangers of radio-active contamination of fish in the Pacific area, will the President make some sort of statement as to what tests are to be carried out on this canned tuna, either in Japan or when it gets to this country?
§ Sir D. EcclesThe hon. Lady may know that actual tests of the quality of fish would be a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health and not for me. Of course, there are, and have been for a long time, very much larger imports of canned Russian salmon, and we have not had any question asked about them.