§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what legislation his Department is considering to ensure that blood gel plasma meat products are adequately labelled before being purchased by the consumer; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacleanShould a company decide to use this technique for the preparation of meat products it would need to ensure that the product was safe and labelled in accordance with the Food Labelling Regulations 1984. This would apply equally to home-produced and imported products. In particular, those regulations require that food labels carry details of any process which the product has undergone where the omission of such detail would mislead the consumer, details of any ingredients used in the product which would include blood enzymes, and a name for the food which would distinguish it from any other foodstuff with which it might be confused.
Misleading labelling of food is an offence under the Food Act 1984. It is not for me to suggest particular forms
678W
Catches by English/Welsh registered vessels Catches by Scottish registered vessels Year Tonnes (live weight) Percentage of EC quota1 Tonnes (live weight) Percentage of EC quota 1979 — n/a — n/a 1980 — n/a — n/a 1981 — n/a — n/a 1982 — — — — 1983 1,174 1.7 — — 1984 — — — — 1985 — 2— — 2— 1986 — 2— — 2— 1987 — 2— — 2— 1988 858 12.3 130 1.9 1989 3,624 22.7 3— 3— 1 Prior to 1982 there was no EC quota. 2 1985 to 1987 there was no EC quota because of the poor state of the stock. 3 Not yet available. n/a = Not applicable. Source: MAFF, Eurostat.
of words for labels. A company would need to decide what description of this or any similar process would adequately explain to its intended customers the exact nature of the foodstuff. Trading standards officers are responsible for enforcing the law; I expect that they are already aware of the development of this process but I am drawing the matter specifically to their attention.
The labelling rules apply equally to catering supplies as they do to retail sales. As part of its current labelling review I have already asked the Food Advisory Committee to look at the difficult matter of information provided to customers in restaurants, cafes or other catering outlets.
I am not aware of any British company that has decided to use this technique; nor is it my understanding that any such products are currently being marketed in the United Kingdom.
However, the Department is monitoring developments closely and I will take any further action that seems appropriate in the interest of either food safety or consumer protection.