§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when the definitive draft of the Food Hygiene (Amendment) Regulations will be available; and when guidelines for the smoked meat and fish industry will be issued.
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§ Mr. DorrellThe regulations were made on 16 July 1990 and laid before Parliament on 18 July 1990. They come into force in stages from 1 April 1991. Copies are available in the Library.
A consultation exercise on guidelines describing the implications of the regulations for all sectors of industry and for enforcement officers has just been completed. Final guidelines will be issued very shortly.
§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many cases of food poisoning have been traced to smoked salmon in the past three years; and in how many cases had the smoked salmon been delivered by post;
(2) how far negotiations concerning the implementation of the Food Hygiene (Amendment) Regulations have progressed with the smoked meat and fish industry; and if he will make a statement;
(3) how many cases of food poisoning have been traced to smoked meat and fish delivered by post in the last five years;
(4) how many cases of food poisoning have been traced to smoked meat and fish in the last three years.
§ Mr. DorrellMost cases of food poisoning are sporadic and it is not usually possible to identify a vehicle of infection for a specific case. Routine statistics on sporadic cases are therefore unhelpful in identifying particular foods as vehicles of infection—whether they have been in the post or not.
The Food Hygiene (Amendment) Regulations 1990 introduce temperature controls for foods which should be kept chilled because they may contain pathogenic micro-organisms which, if not controlled by chilling, can grow rapidly and become a threat to health.
Research is taking place to see how the mail order trade, including smoked fish, can best adapt to the new regulations and we expect to be in a position to consider results with colleagues in MAFF, Scottish Office and the Welsh Office shortly.