§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact on British businesses of the ban on swillfeeding. [68492]
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§ Margaret BeckettThe change in national legislation was based on the advice of the Chief Veterinary Officer in the context of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease and is consistent with the requirements of forthcoming EU legislation on Classical Swine Fever and animal by-products. The index case of the FMD outbreak was at premises where the producer has been subsequently prosecuted for feeding unprocessed catering waste.
The proposal to ban swillfeeding was the subject of a full public consultation and a Regulatory Impact Assessment. The majority of respondents were in favour of a ban on the feeding of catering waste containing meat or meat products as swill to livestock. The final RIA was published with the Animal By-Products (Amendment) (England) Order 2001 and a copy is available from the Library of the House.