HC Deb 08 February 1999 vol 325 cc102-3W
Mr. Baker

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what data he has collated on the results of the tests which have been carried out in the United Kingdom for detecting the presence of genetically modified organisms in food or food ingredients. [69289]

Mr. Rooker

[holding answer 4 February 1999]: Enforcement of food labelling regulations, including legislation requiring the labelling of foods and food ingredients which contain genetically modified organisms, is the responsibility of Local Authorities.

Mr. Baker

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the methods which are currently used in the United Kingdom for determining the origin, nature and quantity of genetically modified organisms present in food or food ingredients; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of these methods. [69288]

Mr. Rooker

[holding answer 4 February 1999]: There are two types of methods which have been developed for the detection of foods and food ingredients containing genetically modified material; those based on the polymerase chain reaction which can be used to detect novel DNA, and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods which can detect novel proteins.

These methods are currently being validated at the European level by the EC Joint Research Centre.