§ Clive EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment the Food Standards Agency has made of the effects of producers injecting water into meat products; [185885]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effects of supermarkets injecting water into meat products. [185882]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe Food Standards Agency (FSA) is aware of concerns about trade in products which appear to be raw unprocessed meat but which have been injected with excess added water, in some cases as high as 50 per cent., and moisture retaining ingredients. While there are no food safety concerns the FSA's view is that this practice is unacceptable. It is therefore pressing for stronger legislative controls at European Union level to prohibit use of moisture retaining ingredients, introduce limits on addition of water and improve labelling.
The FSA is aware of concerns about the labelling of some pork products with lower levels of added water which are sold in United Kingdom supermarkets. A stakeholder meeting held earlier this year concluded that label declarations of added water on these products should be sufficiently prominent that consumers can 882W make informed choices about the products they buy. The FSA is currently drawing up best practice guidelines to encourage clearer labelling.