§ Mrs. Rumboldasked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to ensure that pasteurised milk rather than ultra-heat treated milk will continue to be delivered to the doorstep.
§ Mr. JoplingI am taking steps, in accordance with the judgment of the European Court and with undertakings given by my predecessor, to ensure that imported milk complies with health and hygiene standards similar to those met by our own milk. As regards the future pattern of doorstep deliveries, I am confident that consumers recognise the benefit of regular supplies of fresh pasteurised British milk, and I urge them to continue to support this valuable service.
§ Mr. Baldryasked the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why Her Majesty's Government intend to allow sterilised milk to be imported.
§ Mr. JoplingThe Importation of Milk Regulations (SI 1983 No. 1563) provide for the importation of sterilised milk because there is no scientific or legal justification for differentiating between the UHT process on the one hand and the sterilisation process on the other.
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§ Mr. Baldryasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why Her Majesty's Government decided not to accept a five-year transitional period for the importation of ultra-heat treated milk following the decision of the European Court.
§ Mr. JoplingThe judgment of the European Court in case 124/81 did not provide for a transitional period, and there is no reason to believe that the Court or the Commission as a whole or other member states or individual traders would have acquiesced in such an arrangement, which would in any event be contrary to the provisions of the Treaty of Rome. The Government are, however, proposing in accordance with the judgment to introduce arrangments which will apply to imports health and hygiene controls equivalent to those that apply to our own milk.
§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the future of doorstep milk deliveries.
§ Mr. MacGregorThere is no doubt of the great value of the doorstep delivery as a service to the consumer and especially to the sick, the elderly, the housebound and those living in rural areas. I recognise concern about the possible effect of imports on this service. However, I know that the dairy industry is well aware of the need to keep itself as competitive as possible and I welcome the steps it is taking to persuade consumers of the benefits of having fresh pasteurised milk delivered to the doorstep. This is because in the last resort the future of this unique service can be assured only by the continued support of the consumer.