HC Deb 16 April 1999 vol 329 cc394-5W
Ms Walley

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from UK honey suppliers regarding potential contamination of honey by genetically modified material, with particular reference to(a) DNA and (b) proteins; and if he will make a statement. [80555]

Mr. Rooker

I have received occasional representations from beekeepers seeking advice on the implications of bees foraging GM crops. The Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes hosted a workshop in 1991 to consider the safety of pollen from GM plants in honey. The workshop's conclusion was that the consumption of gene products from pollen in honey was likely to be negligible. The results from three research projects commissioned by MAFF to investigate this further subsequently confirmed this conclusion.