Mr. Torneyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is satisfied that imports of poultrymeat into the United Kingdom comply with the United Kingdom water content regulations; and what steps he is taking to ensure such compliance.
Mr. MacGregorBoth imported and home-produced frozen chicken meat is subject to the provisions of Community legislation governing water content. The regulations are enforced by food and drug authorities. So far this year, food and drug authorities have notified us of two cases where the water content of imported poultry exceeded the permitted levels. In such cases the regulations require that the relevant member State should be notified of the failure to comply and the birds be withdrawn from the market or re-labelled.