§ 5. Dr. Summerskillasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will introduce legislation to make the sale of non-pasteurised milk illegal.
§ Mr. HoyNo, Sir. About 97 Percent. of our fresh milk is already pasteurised. There is a specific consumer demand for untreated milk, and in some remote rural areas the delivery of heat-treated milk could not be assured.
§ Dr. SummerskillWill my hon. Friend bear in mind that people drinking non-pasteurised milk risk developing brucellosis, which can be fatal, and other milk-borne diseases? How can be justify the sale of that remaining 3 per cent. of milk which can cause people's deaths?
§ Mr. HoyI can justify it by saying that there are certain areas where if people did not get this milk they would not have a milk supply at all. My hon. Friend should not exaggerate too much, because cases of milk-borne disease often come from careless and unhygienic handling of milk after the sale has taken place. While we do not minimise the danger, we should keep it in its proper perspective.
§ Sir Knox CunninghamWill the hon. Gentleman state the quantity of unpasteurised milk as well as the percentage?
§ Mr. HoyI could perhaps let the hon. and learned Gentleman have the figures. I do not have details of the actual quantity here. I thought it better to give the percentages so that the House would be able to measure what was involved in this question.