§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on progress made in the programme to label(a) meat and (b) other produce with the country of origin; and when he expects such labelling to begin. [59347]
§ Mr. RookerRules on the labelling of food products are harmonised in the EC. Generally, the place of origin of any food must be given if omitting it could mislead the purchaser about the true place of origin of the food.
More specifically, fresh fruit and vegetables covered by EC marketing standards regulations are required to be marked with the country of origin at all points of sale. Under the Beef Labelling Scheme, any beef labelled with country of origin information must derive from animals born, reared and slaughtered in that country. National origin labelling of beef will become compulsory from the year 2000. The labels on pre-packaged poultrymeat must give an indication of its country of origin when it is imported from outside the Community and we are currently taking steps to require this information on labels, tickets or notices near where unpackaged poultry is offered for sale.
438W
Register Comments The Conservation Walks Register Provides details of access agreements under the agri-environment regulations The Cattle Tracing System Held in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) 820/97. The system includes details of holdings where cattle are kept in Great Britain and certain details of cattle, including where cattle registered onto the system after 28 September 1998 have been throughout their lives. Information can be made available to members of the public with a legitimate interest, under the terms of a Code of Practice. List of Hygiene Assessment System scores for all individual licensed abattoirs and cutting plants in the UK Published each month in a supplement to the Meat Hygiene Enforcement Report available free of charge from 0171-238-6498. Also provides a list of all licensed slaughterhouses and cutting plants in the UK. Separately, members of the British Retail Consortium have recently given a voluntary undertaking not to sell imported beef, lamb and pig meat, processed in the UK, under a British label. This is a welcome commitment, for UK producers and consumers alike.