§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will consider introducing the appropriate legislation to require purveyors of bottled waters to state on the label the mineral, bacterial and chemical contents of the water.
§ Mr. RyderLegislation on the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters is harmonised throughout the European Community and our implementing regulations (the Natural Mineral Waters Regulations 1985) require certain chemcial and microbiological criteria to be met. Labels on natural mineral waters are required to bear a statement of the analytical composition giving its characteristic constituents or bear the words "composition in accordance with the results of the officially recognised analysis of…(date of analysis)". I am currently considering the need for specific statutory controls on other bottled waters.