§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the health risks posed by the illegal importation of bush meat into the UK. [100350]
§ Ms BlearsThe Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has responsibility for food safety matters, advises me that a public health risk assessment has not been made in respect of illegal import of bush meat into the United Kingdom. The FSA has advised local authorities, which are responsible for enforcement of imported food and food safety legislation, that all illegally imported food products, including bush meat, should be removed from the human food chain. As illegal imports, these products have evaded official controls, either in the country of origin, or at the port of entry, designed to verify compliance with food safety standards, and as such, cannot be legally valid in the UK. The FSA is also working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to assist in the targeting of enforcement work to detect illegal imports.
§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has conducted into whether there have been outbreaks of diseases in the UK that can be traced back to have resulted from the illegal importation of bush meat from Africa. [100351]
§ Ms BlearsThe United Kingdom public health bodies involved in the investigation of outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease have not traced any outbreaks of human disease in the UK to the illegal importation of bush meat. Studies of the routes of transmission of a range of food-borne bacteria have not shown bush meat consumption to be a vehicle of infection.