§ Mr. Ralph HowellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many eggs produced at the poultry establishment of Our Lady of Passion monastery in Daventry are known to have been contaminated with salmonella in each of the last three years.
§ Mr. CurryThis information is not available. The Government's measures introduced in March 1989 on compulsory testing for salmonella are directed towards identifying poultry flocks in which invasive salmonella is present, rather than examination of eggs. I understand that the flock in question was not tested in accordance with these legal requirements and the identification of 651W salmonella typhimurium in the flock, on which the decision to slaughter was based, was made following a report from the local authority of a food poisoning outbreak associated with eggs produced at the monastery.