§ 41. Mr. J. E. B. Hillasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will seek powers to reintroduce the practice of staining and of regulating the disposal of meat that has been condemned as unfit for human consumption.
§ Mr. GodberMy right hon. Friend has this matter under active consideration in consultation with his right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Health.
§ Mr. HillCan my hon. Friend tell me when he hopes to reach a decision in this matter? Is he aware that if he decides in favour of restoring the regulation, it will give satisfaction not only to the public at large but also to the trade associations concerned, since they are very anxious to minimise unfair trading and bad practices? Does he not also agree that, although it is a very important problem, it is not large, since the amount of meat unfit for human consumption is only a minute fraction of total supplies?
§ Mr. GodberYes, I realise the importance and hope that we shall soon be able to come to a decision. The question here involves not only staining but sterilising, which is the matter we are considering at the moment.
§ Mr. WilleyWhile appreciating the importance of a speedy decision, will the Joint Parliamentary Secretary nevertheless review the general regulations affecting diseased meat to see whether we can follow the course taken by many European countries?
§ Mr. GodberWe are looking at this on a fairly wide scale, but until we have come to a decision on this point I cannot say more.