§ Mr. MooreTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to require(a) restaurants and (b) fast-food outlets to disclose the country of origin of the meat in the meals which they serve. [19248]
§ Yvette CooperI have been asked to reply.
428WWe have no plans to require this information to be given either in restaurants or fast-food outlets.
However, the Food Standards Agency has recently reviewed the advice produced by the Government last year on the interpretation of existing rules on misleading labelling and country of origin. The review aims to ensure this advice addresses the issues that are of most concern to consumers and encourage increased voluntary declarations. The FSA's draft advice has been issued for public consultation and makes clear that, in catering establishments, care should be taken to ensure the wording of any origin information on menus etc. is clear and unambiguous.