Food Labelling (Hansard, 25 January 2000)

§ Mr. Hoyle
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the labelling of British meat products. [105110]

§ Ms Quin
[holding answer 17 January 2000]: Rules on labelling of food products are harmonised at EU level. These are implemented in the UK by the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 (as amended) and the Food Safety Act 1990. There are additional national rules in the Meat Products and Spreadable Fish Products Regulation 1984. All British meat products must comply with the rules laid down in both these sets of Regulations. Enforcement of these rules is carried out by local authorities through their trading standards or environmental health departments.

§ Mr. Cawsey
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the progress of a new labelling regime for food products. [105134]

§ Ms Quin
[holding answer 17 January 2000]: The Government are committed to giving consumers clear, easily understood information so they can make informed choices about the food they buy. We have already taken a number of steps for labelling ingredients derived from genetically modified crops and for labelling the quantities of key ingredients. We are encouraging the development of voluntary industry guidelines aimed at providing better, more consistent information to those consumers with specific allergies and will continue to press for appropriate changes to European and international rules.
We are also launching a new initiative to stimulate public debate on food labelling and find out what information ordinary consumers want to be given about the food they buy. We will also be considering different ways of making information available, including the use of modern technology, and whether new approaches are called for to deal with internet shopping. We are funding consumer research into these questions. We shall be holding open meetings and inviting consumers to write or e-mail us with their views.
The results of this exercise will feed into the work of the Food Standards Agency to whom the Government have given responsibility for developing food labelling policy. The aim is to improve the clarity of information for consumers, and help establish appropriate labelling regimes at national and international level.