Irradiated Food (Hansard, 3 April 1996)

§ Ms Estelle Morris
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the incidence of irradiated food products being supplied in the United Kingdom in the(a) retail, (b) wholesale and (c) import sector without complying with food labelling legislation. [24197]

§ Mrs. Browning
Local authorities are responsible for enforcing food labelling legislation. However, as validated tests are now available for a number of irradiated foods we intend to initiate a surveillance programme on this in the near future.

§ Ms Morris
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will notify enforcement authorities of those companies submitting food products for irradiation treatment.[24198]

§ Mrs. Browning
As required under the Food (Control of Irradiation) Regulations 1991, details of any licence issued to irradiate food are published in theLondon and Edinburgh Gazettes and announced in a press release.
Currently only one company, Isotron plc of Swindon, is licensed to irradiate herbs and spices.