§ Sir Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking on ultra heat treated milk imports.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe European Court of Justice has today issued its judgment in the case dealing with United Kingdom imports of ultra heat treated milk. The court finds our present arrangements for licensing imports of ultra heat treated milk and for applying certain requirements to the sale of such milk, to be contrary to Community law. On the other hand, the court judgment states that the United Kingdom would be entitled to lay down the objective conditions that it considers ought to be observed as regards the quality of milk before treatment and as regards the method of treating and packing UHT milk of whatever origin offered for sale on its territory.
The Government will be studying the judgment in detail and will take as soon as possible the steps necessary to comply with it. Our aim will be to provide for the import of UHT milk from other member states subject to its satisfying the same health and hygiene requirements on which, in the interests of public health, we insist for the production and processing of our own milk. The necessary legislation will be set in hand urgently as soon as the details of the judgment have been studied and consultations held with the Commission and with other member states.
323WMeanwhile, in order to deal with the immediate situation created by the judgment and to retain full safeguards for public health, the Government are taking temporary precautions against the imprt of unsafe milk by amending the open general import licence so as to prohibit imports while the necessary studies and consultations take place.