§ Mr. TylerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research assistance his Department gives to the(a) organic and (b) biotechnology sectors to help them establish the safety of their products. [118582]
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§ Ms StuartI have been asked to reply, as responsibility for food safety and standards matters has now passed to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) which reports to Parliament through Health Ministers.
The FSA funds extensive independent research programmes to support and further its aim of protecting public health from risks which could arise from the consumption of food. The results of these are made widely available to all sectors of the food industry via scientific literature, and from the agency on request, to assist them in ensuring that the food that they are supplying does not pose an unacceptable risk to health. The availability of the results is also publicised in the Agency's Food Safety Information Bulletin when the work has been completed.