§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what threat to public health was posed by the Duckett's cheese in the possession of Mr. James Aldridge; [151312]
(2) if he will publish the external legal opinions on which he bases Her Majesty's Government's appeal against the High Court decision that his Department has acted illegally against Mr. James Aldridge's cheese making business; and if he will make a statement on the public health reasons for that appeal; [151302]
(3) what compensation was paid to Mr. James Aldridge for the destruction of Duckett's Caerphilly cheese under the 1990 Emergency Control Order placing a ban on cheese produced by Ducketts; and what steps he took to ascertain whether Aldridge's cheese came from the same batch of the banned cheese. [151307]
§ 0157. Ms StuartThe threat to public health posed by Duckett's cheese in the possession of Mr. Aldridge was from the bacteriumE coliE coli 0157 is known to cause severe illness and death in previously healthy people. Infection can occur from ingesting a very small 372W number of bacteria. E coli 0157 was found in samples of Duckett's cheese produced using the same methods, under the same conditions and in the same place as Duckett's cheese in the possession of Mr. Aldridge.
It is not usual to publish the advice available to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State during the course of litigation. The Court of Appeal accepted the legal arguments put forward on the Secretary of State's behalf and they are set out in the published report, (1999) 3 C.M.L.R. 123. After the litigation the Specialist Cheese Makers Association questioned the Court of Appeal decision and so further legal advice was sought last year and given to them. If there had not been an appeal, the decision of the High Court would have left in doubt the circumstances in which future emergency control orders could have been made to protect the public from the risk of food related illnesses.
No compensation was payable to Mr. Aldridge for the effects of the Emergency Control Order made in May 1998 in respect of Duckett's cheese. Investigations revealed several possible sources of contamination in the production plant. It was not therefore possible to determine when contamination started and if it had stopped. The safety of any batch could not have been demonstrated except by testing to destruction.