HC Deb 18 July 1972 vol 841 cc384-6
18. Mrs. Sally Oppenheim

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, following the publication of the Report of the Food Standards Committee on the date stamping of foodstuffs, what steps he intends to take to protect the consumer.

Mr. Anthony Stodart

As my right hon. Friend's reply to my hon. Friend on 5th July indicated, he will decide later this year on any action needed when he has the comments of consumers and trade organisations on this informative and important report by the Food Standards Committee.—[Vol. 840, c.155–6.]

Mrs. Oppenheim

Will my right hon. Friend accept our appreciation of his initiative in commissioning this report, will he convey our congratulations to the Food Standards Committee on the excellence of its report, but, when he receives representations from the trade, will he turn a deaf ear to those who may seek to perpetuate inefficient stock control methods at the expense of the consumer and fully implement the recommendations in the report at the earliest opportunity?

Mr. Stodart

I will certainly convey to my right hon. Friend the comments my hon. Friend made and the compliments she paid to him. We completely accept in principle the basis on which the committee has reached its conclusion, but the committee admitted the need to examine detailed suggestions on, for example, the exact form of dating, which is a fairly complex matter. That is why comments have been invited by 31st October.

Mr. Alfred Morris

Does the Minister accept that this Question, like those from my hon. Friend the Member for Wood Green (Mrs. Joyce Butler), the hon. Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Blaker) and many other hon. Members recently, emphasises the compelling urgency now for a consumer advisory committee? Before Report stage of the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, will he reconsider his rejection of the Labour Party's proposal on that issue?

Mr. Stodart

I do not know what more the hon. Gentleman or the House could wish for than the excellent report of the Food Standards Committee.

Mr. Evelyn King

Does my hon. Friend accept that the question is not as simple as it looks? Food stamp dating can help, but it can also confuse. One thing that is certain is that if it is not done carefully it can powerfully affect the price of food, and that is in no one's interest.

Mr. Stodart

I have seen Press reports to that effect. I should very much prefer not to comment on it, but to await the detailed and, I hope, informed comments that will come in by 31st October.

Mrs. Joyce Butler

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the complexities of the matter have been greatly exaggerated and that there is widespread disappointment that his right hon. Friend did not decide to implement the report immediately? This has been a priority demand for consumers for years, and the trade and everybody else concerned has had a long time in which to consider all the details. When is the hon. Gentleman going to get on with it?

Mr. Stodart

May I inform the hon. Lady that two of the recommendations of the report itself were that comments from the food industry ought to be invited and considered by the committee, and that no regulations ought to come into force for three years?