§ Lord Rotherwickasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Food Standards Agency will undertake a risk analysis of infectious diseases entering the United Kingdom through imports of illegal meats and bushmeat, similar to the animal-based study conducted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. [HL2983]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner)The Food Standards Agency has sought independent expert advice on the public health risks of imports of illegal meats and bushmeat. The advice is that the risk of exotic human 55WA infectious diseases entering the United Kingdom through the food chain is very low. The issue of illegally imported food was also considered recently by the agency's independent Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food. Members agreed that illegal imports did not require further investigation by the committee at present, although it agreed to keep a watching brief on developments in relation to action on illegal imports. We do not therefore plan to commission a further risk analysis similar to the animal-based study conducted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The agency will continue to monitor data from the UK surveillance centres on cases of infection due to exotic organisms and to review scientific reports.