HC Deb 24 March 1994 vol 240 cc412-3
11. Dr. Wright

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement on food labelling.

Mr. Soames

Current activities on food labelling include the consolidation of the existing regulations, the introduction of a standard format for nutrition labelling and discussions on several issues in the European Union.

Dr. Wright

I am grateful to the Minister. Is he aware that there is widespread public support for a clear and effective food labelling scheme which covers not just what is in the food that people eat but how it is produced—in particular, whether it is produced by gene technology, including human genes, and whether it is a cruelty-free product in terms of animal welfare? Will the Minister introduce a clear scheme of that kind and does he understand that it is his job to introduce not just measures that the food industry will permit but measures that the consumer wants?

Mr. Soames

The hon. Gentleman is a little wide of the mark. My first job is to protect the interests of the consumer, and we do that with determination and vigour. The hon. Gentleman is a former chairman of a community health council and therefore takes an interest in those matters.

The question of genetically modified organisms is fiendishly complicated and one on which we asked our specialist advisers—the Polkinhorne committee and the Food Advisory Committee—to give us the advice that, in every instance, we have taken. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that clear, concise labelling that gives all the information that people need to make an informed choice is essential and we will ensure that that is just what they get.

Mr. Dickens

Does my hon. Friend agree that we men have to pay a price for splendid food labelling? Has my hon. Friend shopped at a supermarket recently and had to fight his way past the women who are studying the ingredients of foods and their sell-by dates?

Mr. Soames

No, I have not. I have always found the British public extraordinarily trusting, in that they know perfectly well that the food on offer in our stores is of a very high character and if it is there to be sold it will be sold because it is good, safe, wholesome, nutritious and, I hope, British food.