§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has established that the eating of irradiated food by pregnant women is safe; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanInternational expert bodies, such as the joint expert committee on food irradiation and the international consultative group on food irradiation, and the national expert body, the advisory committee on irradiated and novel foods, have advised repeatedly on the safety and wholesomeness of irradiated foods. There is no evidence to suggest that irradiation of food up to an overall average dose of 10kgy presents a toxicological hazard or special nutritional or microbiological problems to the population at large or to specific groups of the population.
Irradiation is one among several techniques for preserving and improving the safety of certain foods. The Government consider that all members of the public in the United Kingdom should be free to choose to enjoy the preservation and safety benefits of irradiated food and are therefore seeking powers in the Food Safety Bill to ensure that this choice is available within an appropriate control framework.