Illegal Meat Imports (Hansard, 7 November 2002)

§ Mr. Breed
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many illegal meat imports were identified by Customs and Excise entering the UK in each of the last 10 years, broken down by category and where they were discovered. [78656]

§ Mr. Morley
The records held by Defra on the seizure of illegal food imports date back to 1 April 2001. Prior to that date, information on seizures was not held centrally.
Since 1 April 2001, HM Customs and Excise have reported a total of 2147 seizures to Defra. Of those, there have been 1473 seizures of meat, 269 of fish, 58 of dairy products, 330 multiple seizures in which more than one type of produce of animal origin was found and 17 other seizures (which included products such as honey).

§ Mr. Gummer
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which of the notifiable diseases mentioned in Schedule 2A of the Government's Animal Health Bill 2001 she estimates are able to enter the country by illegally imported bushmeat. [75933]

§ Mr. Morley
There is no precise definition of the term bushmeat, but this is generally understood to mean the meat of wild animals hunted for food, derived mainly from Central and West African countries.
As part of our Action Plan on illegal imports, we are carrying out a risk assessment to provide information on the likelihood that infected meat will enter the country undetected and infect susceptible livestock. This risk assessment is nearing completion. The risk assessment is focussing initially on the risk posed by Foot and Mouth Disease, though further work will follow on the swine diseases (Classical and African swine fever, swine vesicular disease). It would be possible to use the risk assessment model for other diseases as listed in Schedule 2A, where necessary and appropriate.
Of the diseases listed in Schedule 2A of the Animal Health Bill, Bluetongue and African horse sickness are not transmissible through meat/meat products (they are insect-borne). Other diseases are transmissible via meat, although the risks vary considerably. Generally, the viruses and bacteria present will depend on the species of meat, handling following slaughter, the processing it has undergone (for example, viruses are unlikely to survive the drying or smoking process), whether the product is on the bone, or has large quantities of offal, the temperature at which it has been kept and the length 569W of time taken to reach the UK. The risk of infected bushmeat coming into contact with susceptible livestock is another important variable.

§ Mr. Gummer
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions there have been since January 2000 of persons found to be selling illegally imported meat products. [75929]

§ Mr. Morley
Responsibility for enforcing the law on imported meat products at the point of sale lies with local authorities. Information on prosecutions is not held centrally.
Defra is aware that in 2001, HM Customs and Excise prosecuted three people for offences relating to the import of meat covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Two were convicted on CITES offences and one was acquitted, but convicted under a separate Animal Health charge. This year, we are aware of one successful prosecution brought by Crawley Borough Council in July, and six cautions issued by the London Port Health Authority in October. All related to the illegal importation of animal products.

§ Mr. Laurence Robertson
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many extra staff have been appointed to detect illegally imported meat at ports of entry to the UK since the outbreak of foot and mouth disease; and if she will make a statement. [79283]

§ Mr. Morley
[holding answer 4 November 2002]: An additional £1.5 million has been allocated in this financial year to fund extra checks. Discussions have been held with Local/Port Health Authorities on how best to target the resources. We expect to be able to fund between 18 and 30 extra officers this year. Sixteen officers have already started work or are just about to.

§ Mr. Alan Reid
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2002,Official Report, column 585W, on illegal meat imports, what progress has been made towards implementing the action plan; and if she will make a statement. [79554]

§ Mr. Morley
Since April, significant progress to implement the action plan has been madeThe risk assessment to provide information on the likelihood that infected meat will enter the country undetected, and infect susceptible livestock will be published later this year. We have increased the number of targeted checks carried out this year, especially on passenger bags. An extra £1.5 million has been allocated in this financial year for additional enforcement officers to perform checks on imports at selected ports and airports. At European level, new rules on personal import allowances were adopted on 20 September and come in to force on 1 January 2003. A six-month pilot using detector dogs to find illegal animal products in passenger baggage and freight commenced at Heathrow on 16 September. The "Don't bring back more than you bargained for" public awareness campaign, launched on 8 July. Two video fillers are currently being distributed, and we have already produced and distributed a radio filler, posters and leaflets.