Meat Labelling (Hansard, 6 February 1992)

§ 5. Mr. Mullin
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has to oblige food companies to label meat according to the method of production.

§ Mr. Maclean
All food labelling is controlled by the European Commission. Britain cannot unilaterally compel meat companies to show the method of production on the label unless the majority of member states agree.

§ Mr. Mullin
No, but we can make an effort, can we not, to persuade our European colleagues to join us in that. What effort has the Minister made so far? If he is really concerned about consumer choice and the gross excesses of the factory farming industry, proper labelling is an effective and cheap way to deal with them.

§ Mr. Maclean
I assure the hon. Gentleman that the Government are committed to a policy of informative labelling. That is why we are following the advice of our independent Food Advisory Committee to explore a voluntary, standardised, humane labelling system. We are actively pursuing that now.

§ Mr. Hill
Would not the simplest advice to the British public be that they should always buy British beef, pork and veal? There will then be no chance of contamination.

§ Mr. Maclean
For a whole host of reasons, yes Sir.

§ Mr. Ron Davies
Why is there such a gulf between the Minister's actions and his words? Are not consumers still being denied freedom of choice, resulting in delays in the introduction of more humane systems of husbandry? Will the Minister confirm that he has no intention of taking meaningful action, but that he is afraid to say so because an election is coming up?

§ Mr. Maclean
It really is not good enough for a spokesman for the official Opposition to come here in spite, without reading the official report by the independent advisory committee. That report says: We do not recommend a requirement to indicate animal rearing methods on foods labels …we therefore recommend that the possibility of drawing up a standard system, which clearly defines terms to indicate welfare-orientated rearing methods, should be considered". That is what we are actively pursuing.