§ Mr. Freesonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what action is being taken to ensure that irradiated foods are not being imported into the United Kingdom for sale for human consumption contrary to the United Kingdom Food (Control of Irradiation) Regulations;
(2) what practical means of detection of irradiation are available to ports authorities and trading standards officers to enable them to identify any irradiated foods being imported or offered for sale in the United Kingdom;
3W(3) how many samples of food were tested to detect any irradiation treatment at ports of entry into the United Kingdom since 1 January 1985; and what proportion of samples were found to have been irradiated.
§ Mr. WhitneyI have been asked to reply.
Responsibility for the enforcement of the Food (Control of Irradiation) Regulations 1967, as amended, is vested in the port health and local authorities. As yet there are no generally applicable chemical or physical tests, adequate for enforcement purposes, for identifying irradiated foods, but perusal of the accompanying documentation may reveal whether or not foods have been irradiated. No information is held centrally about the routine activities of enforcement authorities.