§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to label(a) genetically modified food, (b) meat treated with hormones and (c) the country of origin for meat and meat products and if he will make a statement. [26660]
§ Mrs. BrowningA draft regulation on novel foods and novel food ingredients, currently before the Council of Ministers in Brussels, would, if adopted, require the labelling of genetically modified food in certain circumstances.
The Government have accepted the advice of the Food Advisory Committee that there should be no additional labelling requirements for meat derived from animals treated with hormones.
Under EC labelling rules, the place of origin or provenance of a food must be given on food labels in cases where failure to give such particulars might mislead the consumer to a material degree. Furthermore, there is no legal impediment to giving this information voluntarily, provided it is true and non-misleading. I know of no proposals in the EU to alter this situation.