Mr. RaneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she has put in place to ensure the implementation of the Curry report recommendations for clear and honest labelling of meat products. [53703]
§ Ms BlearsThe Food Standards Agency is taking the lead in pressing for changes to European Union labelling rules to require country of origin labelling on a wider range of foods, particularly meat products. It is also pressing for changes that would prevent misleading labelling by restricting the use of terms like "produce of …" to those foods where the main ingredients come from, and production processes occur in, the named place or country. Other EU member states are supporting the UK's initiative on this issue. In addition, the recent 559W adoption of a harmonised definition of meat across Europe for food labelling purposes means meat products will declare and quantify their meat ingredients on a common basis, making it easier for consumers to compare products and make better informed choices.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to amend the law to require the labels on imported processed food to state whether the food contains beef from animals more than 30 months old or has been processed in a country where such meat is allowed to enter the human food chain. [61590]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 12 June 2002]: The Government are in favour of positive labelling giving consumers the information they need to make properly informed choices. The Food Standards Agency is taking the lead in pressing for changes to European labelling rules to require more informative country-of-origin labelling on a wider range of foods, particularly those containing meat.
However, it would not be possible to extend labelling requirements to cover imported processed food containing beef from animals over 30 months old in the way that has been suggested. The rules covering the restrictions on sale of over thirty-month imported beef are UK national measures and such additional labelling requirements may not be in conformity with EU law. In addition, it is usually not possible to tell the age of the animal from which processed beef products have been derived.
§ Norman LambTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many alleged incidents of condemned meat being illegally mislabelled and sold on for consumption have been investigated in each of the last five years; and how many prosecutions have been instigated for such offences in each of these years. [62095]