§ Lord Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have to ensure that the public are properly informed of the results of food chemical surveys.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Donoughue)The Government believe that the public should be152WA properly informed about all food safety matters. My honourable friend the Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has therefore decided to make some important changes to improve the reporting of results from our regular food chemical surveys. He plans to increase the amount of information available about surveys and ensure wider publication of the results. For all relevant surveys, the full results for individual samples, including brand names, will be given. Furthermore, he will open up the food chemical surveillance programme to greater public scrutiny by publishing information on surveys to be undertaken.
My honourable friend the Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food endorsed fully the view that we must release the results fairly and provide the public with the best possible advice on their significance. These changes will benefit consumers by enabling them to make a more informed choice about the food that they buy. The only surveys which will be excluded from these arrangements are those for which brand names have no bearing on the interpretation of the results, such as dietary surveys involving individual people or exploratory surveys aimed at developing analytical methods.
In addition, my honourable friend the Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food proposes to review the current arrangements for reporting surveys on pesticides, veterinary residues and microbiological safety of food which are administratively different to food chemical surveys. We will report on proposed changes to the House as soon as possible.