§ Mr. Roger WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on how the Food Standards Agency's 2002 consumer attitudes to food survey has affected her Department's policy on GM foodstuffs. [102862]
§ Mr. MorleyMy Department noted the Food Standards Agency's 2002 consumer attitudes to food survey. Surveys such as this informed our decision to hold an open and inclusive GM public debate on all the issues surrounding genetic modification.
Our overriding objective on the issue of genetic modification is to safeguard human health and the environment and each application to release a GMO will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. However, Defra is not responsible for evaluating GM foods, this 875W is a matter for the FSA. Issues raised, in the survey, e.g. food safety and hygiene and labelling are therefore matters for the FSA to address.