Dr. ThomasTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the seminar on food irradiation, sponsored by the Agriculture and Food Research Council's Institute for Food Research, held on 18 September.
§ Mr. MacleanThe seminar was organised by the Institute of Food Research in view of the widespread current interest in food irradiation. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food agreed to give the opening address. The seminar brought together United Kingdom and international experts in all aspects of the subject. Their review and evaluation of effects of the process confirmed the safety, wholesomeness—including the nutritional value—of food in line with the Government's recent decision. There was widespread acceptance of this overall conclusion and a general recognition of the useful part that food irradiation could play by killing such micro-organisms as salmonella, listeria and camplyobacter.