§ Mr. Charles ClarkeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in respect of how many incidents regarding chemical contamination of food, his Department has required laboratory analysis during the last 10 years; and where the work was carried out. [33981]
§ Mr. RookerThe Department maintains an extensive programme of surveys for many types of chemical contaminants in food. Inevitably, it is necessary to undertake investigations into specific incidents when elevated levels of contaminants are found. These investigations are carried out at a number of public and private laboratories, including the Central Science Laboratory (CSL), York for pesticide residues and the CSL, Norwich for other chemicals such as dioxins and PCBs. The information is not held in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, details on an annual basis are contained in the Annual Report on Food Chemical Surveillance; the second Annual Report is due to be published in early summer.