§ Mr. Lomas57, 58 and 29. asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what action he intends to take to stop the sale of reprocessed corned beef to the general public;
(2) what would be the cost of his Department's buying the consignment of reprocessed corned beef and having it destroyed in the interests of the consumer and the trade;
(3) if he will seek to order notices to be placed in establishments where reprocessed corned beef is on the menu clearly stating that the beef has undergone reprocessing.
§ Mr. PeartLast October, after discussions with my Department, the major importers of stocks of corned beef which had been voluntarily withheld from the market since June 1964 agreed that these would not be sold to the public. This was because of the damage that could be caused to the reputation of canned meat generally in this country. On 7th January I was able to announce that all the other holders of similar stocks had also agreed that they would not be distributed, whether reprocessed or not, in the United Kingdom. Following these comprehensive agreements, which are undoubtedly for the good of the trade, no question arises of any further action by the Government in the interests of consumers.