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Column 318

multipass freezer.

35. Plant design--Energy utilisation in fish processing. 36. Plant design-- A study of fundamental principles in the design and development of new smoking processes.

37. Processing machinery--Development of a machine to produce uncoated formed fillets.

38. Processing machinery--Separation of meat from shellfish. List 2 Projects for termination in 1991 1. Utilisation of proteins as functional ingredients in processed food products. 2. Chemical composition and processing conditions on functional properties of food emulsions.

3. Composition factors and processing conditions of fat in food emulsions.

4. Heat and mass transfer in meat refrigeration.

5. Robotics in meat handling and processing.

6. Meat process engineering.

7. Quality control robotic vision and meat grading by video image analysis and fibre.

8. Production of savoury flavour-enhancing peptides by enzymes. 9. Improve yield and quality of cheese and other fermented dairy products using cultures and enzymes derived from biotechnology programmes at IFR.

10. Packaging techniques for improved storage and display. 11. Optimum conditions for maintaining quality in bulked storage of vegetables.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what he is charging Dr. Harash Narang of the public health laboratory for the supply of cattle heads for BSE testing ; and if he will make a statement ;

(2) how many cattle brains he is supplying to Dr. Harash Narang at the public health laboratory in Newcastle for BSE tests ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gummer : We are supplying Dr. Harash Narang with 10 cattle brains at £50 each. This cost reflects the expenditure incurred by my Department in ensuring the supply of both positive and negative BSE material.

Bankruptcies

Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has for the number of bankruptcies in the agricultural sector in each of the last five years ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gummer : Figures for bankruptcies in England and Wales for the agricultural and horticultural sectors over the last five years are as follows :

              |Number of    |Percentage of              

              |bankruptcies |total                      

                            |bankruptcies               

--------------------------------------------------------

1985          |136          |2.1                        

1986          |130          |1.9                        

1987          |172          |2.4                        

1988          |162          |2.1                        

1989          |142          |1.7                        

Note: These and related figures were set out in the 9   

November issue of "Business Briefing" published by the  

Association of British Chambers of Commerce. The        

balance sheet for British agriculture remains strong    

with the value of assets being six times liabilities.   

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