§ Mr. HayesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his position towards Directive 2002/67/EC (OJ L191, vol 45, 19 July 2002) on the labelling of foodstuffs containing(a) quinine and (b) caffeine; how many products on sale in the UK will be affected; and what cost assessment his Department has made of the cost of change in packaging. [77248]
§ Ms BlearsThese labelling changes will help consumers make informed choices about consumption of these products. Many manufacturers already indicate when caffeine or quinine has been added as an ingredient and most beverages containing high levels of caffeine already carry a warning to that effect. The new rules do not take full effect until 1 July 2004 and the legislation provides for products labelled before that date to continue to be sold while stocks last. This generous transitional period should allow any necessary changes to be incorporated as part of normal label redesign cycles and therefore ensure costs are kept to a minimum.