§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what percentage of farms in Wales are currently classified as organic; and if he will make a statement. [19856]
§ Mr. Jonathan EvansAccording to the "UK Register of Food Standards", in February 1997 there were 97 organic farms in Wales. This is less than 0.5 per cent. of the total number of farms.
Reported cases of E.coli poisoning in Wales1 21992 21993 21994 21995 1996 Bro Taf 11 3 4 6 9 Dyfed Powys 14 12 9 10 5 Gwent 6 12 6 3 4 Morgannwg 5 1 4 4 4 North Wales3 3 5 6 58 16 Wales 39 33 29 81 38 Source:
Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre Wales.
Notes:
1 Data are reported cases of Verotoxigenic Escherichia coli 0157 (VTEC 0157).
2 For figures before 1996—Bro Taf = Mid and South Glamorgan; Dyfed Powys = East Dyfed, Pembrokeshire and Powys; Morgannwg = West Glamorgan; North Wales = Clwyd and Gwynedd.
3 The Figure ro 1995 includes specimens from the north Wales nursery outbreak examined using more sensitive methods.