§ Judy MallaberTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will assess the adequacy of charges available to prosecutors under food regulations. [137584]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonI have been asked to reply.
As part of its action plan to implement the recommendations of the Waste Food Task Force, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has undertaken to consider a number of legal issues with stakeholders. These issues include the offences available to enforcers when taking prosecutions for illegal diversion of unfit meat, the penalties available for such offences, the time limits for investigation of these offences and the issues involved with lack of a power of arrest for food safety offences. The FSA will be discussing these issues with stakeholders at a seminar on 26 November 2003 to discuss the lessons to be learned from the prosecutions in the Denby Poultry Products case.
§ Judy MallaberTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps are being taken to improve enforcement of food safety regulations at animal by-products processing premises arising from recent meat fraud cases. [137588]
§ Mr. BradshawFood safety regulations are the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency. The State Veterinary Service (SVS) visits animal by-products premises for the purposes of administering the animal by-products legislation, which is enforced by local authorities and the Meat Hygiene Service. SVS instructions were amended in light of the fraud cases referred to, with the aim of preventing further such incidents. They improved audit procedures and highlighted the need to liaise more closely with enforcement agencies where there are possible breaches of food hygiene or other legislation. To improve communication and co-operation between the relevant bodies, Defra has also provided joint training on the new Animal By-Products Regulation for all the relevant enforcement bodies.