§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the implications for the food consumer of vitamin losses which occur during the cook-chill process;
(2) what evaluation of the nutritional content of cook-chill food has been undertaken in the United Kingdom;
(3) what information his Department has collected on whether foods which are high in polyunsaturated acids are suitable for use in the cook-chill process.
§ Mr. FreemanAfter a thorough review of the available data the working group of independent experts concluded that wherever food is heated and/or stored there will be nutrient losses. Where food is to be stored, consideration at the menu planning stage should be given to the reduction in the amount of foods with high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids as they are particularly prone to rancidity during storage.
The expert group considered that the nutritional loss in a properly managed cook-chill catering system were no more than in any other large-scale catering system.