§ 29. Mr. IrvineTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the reports he has received from independent scientific committees on the safety of food irradiation.
§ 53. Mr. StevensTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the reports he has received from independent scientific committees on the safety of food irradiation.
§ Mr. MacleanThe Government received advice from the independent Advisory Committee on Irradiated and Novel Foods (ACINF) in its report entitled "Safety and Wholesomeness of Irradiated Foods" published in 1986. Annexed to this report were reports on specific aspects of food irradiation from the National Radiological Protection Board, the standing panel on hazards from microbial contamination of food, the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, the panel on novel foods and the Food Advisory Committee.
The Government received a second report from the ACINF in 1987 in which the committee assessed scientific comment received on matters raised in its first report.
I am also aware of a number of reports from national and international scientific bodies, among which I would particularly mention: the 1977 and 1980 reports of the joint expert committee of food irradiation, convened by the World Health Organisation and the other international bodies; the 1982 report of the board of the International Committee of Food Microbiology and Hygiene of the International Union of Microbiological Societies; the 1986 report of the European Community scientific committee for food; and a number of reports from the United States Food and Drug Administration published in the Federal Register.