§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what responsibility his Department has for ensuring that foodstuffs are safe for human consumption and carry no risk of food poisoning; in what way this responsibility is carried out; how many and what type of staff are required; what is the annual cost to his Department; and what has been the change in the number of staff and the annual cost to his Department in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. ForthThe Department of Trade and Industry has no direct responsibility for food safety for human consumption, although the laboratory of the Government chemist plays an important role in conducting analysis and advising the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Ministry of Defence on contamination by micro-organisms, heavy metals, pesticides and veterinary residues; the cost of that work rests with those Departments.
The DTI and MAFF have launched a collaborative link research programme (£7 million from Government; £7 million from industry) to improve control of food processing, which will, lead to improvements in food quality and safety.