§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will commission a national survey into the quality of food supplied by wholesalers to local authority schools and elderly persons' homes; and if he will publish the results;
(2) what action he proposes to take in response to the results of the recent survey undertaken by trading standards officers in Yorkshire and Humberside on food supplied by wholesalers to local authority schools and elderly persons' homes.
§ Mr. MacleanI too was disturbed to read the results of this survey by trading standards officers. There are, however, already powers in the Food Act 1984 which make it an offence to sell food which is not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser and trading standards officers are very familiar with the operation of this law. The Food Safety Bill currently before Parliament continues these powers.
It is of course for any local authority to ensure that foodstuffs supplied to its establishments meet the terms of its purchase contract and to take appropriate civil or criminal action if there should be any failure to supply the quality demanded. In the circumstances, the local authorities concerned already therefore have adequate powers to deal with the matter and I see no cause for me to intervene.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to increase the sanctions available to trading standards officers investigating the supply of unfit food.
§ Mr. MacleanThe application of sanctions against those who supply unfit food is of course a matter for the courts. However, the Food Safety Bill is substantially increasing the statutory penalties for contraventions of this kind.