§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any proposals to phase out the use of sell-by or best-before labelling of hens eggs.
§ Mr. CurryNo. The use of sell-by and/or best-before date markings on eggs is permitted under the EC Egg Marketing Standards Regulations. The recently revised EC Egg Marketing Standards Regulations retain the option of using the term "sell-by". Although we wished the term to be withdrawn in line with the labelling of other foodstuffs for which the term "best-before" is to be used, the Commission, and a majority of member states, wished to retain it. The mandatory requirement to show a packing date remains.