§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with EU Ministers on compulsory insurance for product recall costs; and if she will make a statement. [173678]
§ Alun MichaelThe decision to recall a product is usually taken by individual companies in conjunction with advice from the Food Standards Agency (FSA). It is for the companies themselves to decide whether to insure against such an eventuality. I have not been involved in any discussions with EU Ministers on compulsory insurance for such product recall costs.
In relation to animal feed, the Council of Agriculture Ministers has recently adopted an EC Regulation. One of the Articles of this Regulation requires that the European Commission shall prepare a report on the viability of feed business operators having financial guarantees, such as insurance. This would be to provide cover for the total costs for which such operators could 1497W be held liable as a direct consequence of the withdrawal, treatment and/or destruction of feed from the market, or animals and food produced therefrom.
The FSA led the negotiations, so as such, I did not correspond with EU Ministers directly. However, DEFRA was kept fully informed by the FSA of their progress and Defra contributed views to the FSA, including on the issues of financial guarantees.