Food (Research and Development) (Hansard, 19 March 1963)

HC Deb 19 March 1963 vol 674 cc177-8 177

§ 1. Mr. Skeffington
asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what action he is taking to promote food research and development, and to ensure that the results are applied to the public benefit.

§ The Parliamentary Secretary for Science (Mr. Denzil Freeth)
As the full Answer is rather long I will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

§ Mr. Skeffington
As the Minister acquiesced in closing down the Aberdeen laboratory and the experimental factory that did a good deal of pioneering work in connection with freeze-drying of food, and as the work on dehydration has been lost, can he say what steps the Government intend to take to bridge the gap between the purely scientific investigation and the food industry generally? There does not seem to be anything now.

§ Mr. Freeth
There is definitely a link. The food research associations under the D,S.I.R. are in constant communication with their respective industries and, on the purely biological side, the Agricultural Research Council is in touch with farmers through the N.A.A.S.

§ Mr. Hector Hughes
Does the Minister realise that the preparation for research of that kind, and other forms of research, is being greatly prejudiced and undermined by the Government's vindictive, savage, ignorant, anti-educational—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. We have no hope of getting more Questions answered 178 if we have supplementary questions of that kind.

§ Mr. Hughes
May I ask my supplementary question without an adjective, Mr. Speaker?

§ Mr. Speaker
No.

Following is the information: Five establishments under the Agricultural Research Council, and two in the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research are engaged on food research and development. There are also five research associations, established by food processing industries, and supported by Government grant. Of the five establishments of the Medical Research Council concerned with human nutrition, two are engaged in research related to food. A Meat Research Institute is being established by the Agricultural Research Council in association with Bristol University, and the Council is also planning the establishment of a Food Research Institute in association with the University of East Anglia. In addition to the work at their own stations, the research councils make grants to universities for scientific research related to food problems. The results of research in this sphere are published in scientific and technical journals, and disseminated through liaison and information services including those of the research associations.