§ Lord O'HAGANasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there is scientific evidence that the sale of uneviscerated poultry involves risks to human health; and whether Her Majesty's Government's views on the health hazards will materially affect the implementation in the United Kingdom of EEC Directive 118/71.
§ Lord BESWICKMy Lords, I am advised that some of the conditions that render poultry meat unfit for human consumption are detectable only at postmortem inspection, for which proper evisceration is essential. Moreover, it is preferable that evisceration should be done under the controlled conditions of a slaughterhouse rather than in places such as butchers' shops or kitchens where other foods may be harmfully contaminated if sufficient care is not taken. Nevertheless, we have a traditional and substantial trade in uneviscerated poultry which needs time to be phased out. For that reason, as my honourable friend has said in another place, we are seeking in Brussels to defer until February, 1982, the prohibition on uneviscerated poultry meat sales which Directive 71/118 would have imposed for the domestic trade from February, 1976. I should mention that an end of sales of uneviscerated poultry would not deny fresh poultry meat to the consumer. There is an increasing availability of fresh, unfrozen and eviscerated poultry to replace the traditional uneviscerated bird.