§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from the(a) food and (b) retail industry over the creation of the Food Standards Agency. [69018]
§ Mr. RookerI have been asked to reply.
The Government consulted widely, including with representatives of the food and retail industry, on the White Paper, "The Food Standards Agency: A Force for Change" in 1998. Meetings have been held with these and other interested parties on a number of occasions to discuss the proposals.
On 27 January 1999 we launched a further consultation exercise on the draft Food Standards Bill and on proposals for a levy scheme. Copies of these two documents have been sent to all interested parties. The closing date for comments is 24 March.