§ Mr. MacShaneTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made on destroying over-30-months Scheme tallow stocks since his answer of 13 July 1998,Official Report, column 88. [64670]
§ Mr. RookerAt the end of November 1998, stocks of OTMS tallow stood at 185,000 tonnes. Over 53,000 tonnes of tallow have been sold to renderers to burn as a fuel to power the rendering process. The Intervention Board have commissioned a leading firm of environmental engineers to report early in the new year on the opportunities for the large scale destruction of OTMS tallow in accordance with the requirements of Commission Regulation 716/96. The 663W Board's aim is to conclude early supply contracts which take full account of the need to protect human and environmental health and yield the best return for the taxpayer.