§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list the regulations currently implemented by Her Majest's Government and the European Commission relating to food labelling; what implications these have for the production and export of traditional Scottish fare, including haggis; and if she will ensure that no regulations will prevent the use of traditional recipes.
§ Mr. JackFood labelling rules are set out principally in EC directive 79/112 and these are implemented in Great Britain by the Food Labelling Regulations 1984 and the Food Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 1984, both of which have been subject to some amendment and both of which are currently being reviewed and updated. I know of nothing in any of these regulations which has a particular effect on either Scottish fare or any other traditional receipe and I have no plans to make regulations that will. If any applications are received under the EC schemes for the registration of specific characteristics of food or of geographic names, which are separate from the labelling rules, which appear to affect adversly the interests of Scottish, or any other UK producers, then I would wish to give them every opportunity to comment on issues which concern them.