§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what specification governs the use of the terms traditional and free range when applied to turkeys; and to what extent these differ from the specification for the French term Label rouge. [50851]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 16 July 1998]: The distinctions between free range and traditional free range as laid down in the EC Poultry Meat Marketing Regulations are as follows:
517WWe do not have any details of the voluntary Label Rouge term for turkeys but it is our understanding that the criteria may be based on traditional free range or the free-range total freedom term under the regulations. The minimum requirements for the latter term are the same as traditional free range but the birds must have continuous daytime access to open-air runs of an unlimited area.