§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the implications for the British soap and detergent industry of the French ban on British beef derivatives. [103649]
§ Ms Quin[holding answer 21 December 1999]: There is no reason why the French ban on Date Based Export Scheme beef should affect the British soap and detergent industry. European Union BSE-related rules, which have 722W been in place since March 1996, currently prevent the export of cosmetic soap made from tallow produced from bovine animals slaughtered in the UK. UK manufacturers may use imported and non-bovine tallow to produce cosmetic soap for export. No BSE-related restrictions apply to exports of non-cosmetic soap and detergent.