§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which(a) committees and (b) other bodies his Department consults regularly on food safety policies; and how many of these represent scientific interests. [13313]
§ Mrs. BrowningThe main committees which provide advice on food safety issues are: the Food Advisory Committee; the Advisory Committee on Microbiological Safety of Food; the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes; the Advisory Committee on Pesticides; the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy; the Committees on Toxicity, Carcinogenicity, and Mutagenicity; the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee; and the Veterinary Products Committee. The Food Advisory Committee has a widely based membership including some scientific experts, although it mostly relies on other specialist committees for advice on scientific matters. In the case of the other committees, most of the members have scientific expertise.
Views from many other bodies with scientific interests are sought during the extensive consultation which takes place when policies are being formulated.
§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many improvement notices were served on establishments subject to food safety enforcement law in(a) 1992 and (b) 1995. [14247]
§ Mrs. BrowningIn non-metropolitan English districts, 22,414 food premise were issued with improvement notices in 1992 and 2,314 in 1995. For all English authorities, 34,474 food businesses were issued with improvement notices in 1992 and 4,541 in 1995.