§ Ms AthertonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the labelling of farmed sea bass. [113079]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Food Safety Act 1990 and the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 generally require that labelling should not falsely describe a food or be likely to mislead as to its nature, substance or quality. These provisions are to be supplemented by new European rules, which come into force on 1 January 2002. These will specifically require an indication of the production method (caught at sea or in inland waters or farmed) to be given for all fish offered for sale to the final consumer. They will also have to indicate the agreed sales name for the species and, in the case of sea fish, the catch area.