§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will introduce his proposed changes to beef labelling; and what factors underlie the delay in their introduction. [20489]
§ Mr. RookerThe Beef Labelling Scheme, which implements EC Regulation 820/97, was introduced in the United Kingdom on 9 October with applications invited from 1 November. The Regulation was due to come into full force from 1 January 1998, but the European Commission has recently decided to postpone entry into force until 31 March 1998. The reason for this postponement was delay in implementing the Regulation in other member states.