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Food Safety
6. Mr. Khabra: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he last met consumer representatives to discuss Government policy on food safety. [27460]
Mr. Douglas Hogg: Yesterday afternoon.
Mr. Khabra: When the Minister met consumer representatives, did they tell him that there is still no confidence in the safety of British beef, that at least 48 per cent. of slaughterhouses were breaking the BSE controls last September and that 10 slaughterhouses were breaking the rules this March? What has the Minister told those representatives and what confidence has he given to them?
Mr. Hogg: I had the pleasure of meeting representatives of consumer organisations yesterday. I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman's assertion that consumer confidence has not been restored; it is recovering. Consumption is moving upwards; some of the figures suggest that it is at about 80 per cent. There is a substantial recovery.
It is true that during the latter part of last year there were examples of non-compliance with the controls in certain slaughterhouses, and that is worrying. That is why I have called in representatives of the industry on a number of separate occasions.
The audits that we have been carrying out recently show an enormous improvement in compliance, which is reflected in the control report that the European Commission made to the Council.
Mr. Nicholas Baker:
Will my right hon. and learned Friend encourage, from that Dispatch Box, consumer representatives to ask retailers and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom to stock that safest of products, British beef? To that end, will he also do everything he can to speed up the implementation of the 30-month cull and to increase the flow of information from his Department to the beef industry?
Mr. Hogg:
It is probably true that the British beef industry is now the most heavily scrutinised and regulated in Europe, and we can say with absolute confidence that there is no beef industry in Europe with higher standards. As for speeding up the cull and improving the flow of information, again my hon. Friend is right. I am glad to say that the process of slaughtering the cull cows is speeding up, and I hope that about 25,000 will be slaughtered next week. We also need to ensure that the farming community is kept fully aware of all relevant information, and we shall seek to do so.
Mr. Sheerman:
Is the Minister not aware that consumer confidence in British beef was destroyed in America, Australia and Europe when the Secretary of State for Health and the Minister of Agriculture, ran into the Chamber to make statements that caused, or precipitated, the crisis in the first place? Then they said that they would do nothing about it. They did not even tell the House what they intended to do until the following Monday. Let us establish the truth: the crisis was brought about by the Government, and they have spent every moment since then blaming everybody else.
Mr. Hogg:
Let us analyse that question, if we may, and see what it amounts to: an assertion that the Government should have swept under the carpet and concealed the conclusions and recommendations of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee. That is a disgraceful suggestion.
Mr. Garnier:
Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that one of the best places to acquire safe British food from British farm animals is Market Harborough cattle market? Will he confirm that E. A. Lane and Sons of Leicester, which is on the list attached to the letter dated 2 May from the Minister of State, is the company that runs Market Harborough cattle market, which is open for business and doing well?
Mr. Hogg:
My hon. and learned Friend can be reassured on that point. Another place in which to find very good British beef is the House of Commons Dining Room.
Mrs. Golding:
Did the Minister discuss with the consumer representatives the reasons why they are not represented on SEAC, as they are on other Government scientific committees such as the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food and the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy? What would his explanation have been of the reasons why consumers are excluded from SEAC, the Government scientific committee discussing BSE? Does he not think that, if
Mr. Hogg:
I discussed that very question with the Consumers Association, and I told it that SEAC is a specialist committee set up to give the Government specialist advice. It does not seem to me that appointing representatives of groups that do not possess the relevant expertise would assist in the formulation of the specialist advice. If we were to adopt the principle that the hon. Lady commends to me, we should have to follow it further and put representatives of other interest groups on SEAC--producers, renderers, hauliers, retailers and so forth. That would so dilute the nature of SEAC that it would not be able to serve the purposes for which it was established.
7. Mr. Nicholas Winterton:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on milk quotas. [27461]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Tony Baldry):
The Commission is planning to present the Council with options for reforming the dairy regime early next year. Meanwhile, we continue to press for an increase in milk quotas and a reduction in support prices.
Mr. Winterton:
What plans do the Government have to consult the dairy farming and processing industry with a view to submitting to the European Commission in the very near future proposals relating to future dairy support, particularly relating to milk quotas? That must be done in the next few years. It is vital that we increase quotas for our dairy farmers and make those quotas transferable and more flexible, because this country has the best climate and grass for milk production.
Mr. Baldry:
It is a great sadness that this country is not self-sufficient in milk products; that is because of the agricultural policies pursued by the last Labour Government. My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have an excellent dairy farming industry and we need to ensure that any reforms of the EC dairy regime play to our strengths and acknowledge the competitiveness of the UK dairy industry. That is why we are pressing for increases in quotas combined with cuts in support prices. That will be good news for UK farmers and for UK consumers.
Mr. Corbett:
Is the Minister confident that the impact of the current BSE cull on the dairy industry will not jeopardise the ability of dairy farmers to produce up to the amount of the quota?
Mr. Baldry:
We estimate that the of the 30-month cull will reduce milk production by about 1.5 per cent., which can easily be made up by dairy farmers and is roughly equivalent to the super-levy amount this year. There will be no impact on milk production as a consequence of the 30-month scheme.
Mr. John Greenway:
Notwithstanding what my hon. Friend the Minister told my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton), is it not the case that British milk production is hampered by the quota arrangements? We simply cannot go on producing only 80 to 85 per cent. of our milk requirements. Is not a consequence of that that there is a guarantee that we must import year on year? Is it not time that we had a quota that matched our consumption?
Mr. Baldry:
I do not think that anyone disagrees with my hon. Friend. I have explained that the reasons why we are not self-sufficient in milk can be laid firmly at the door of the last Labour Government. We want a reform of the EC dairy regime, an increase in quotas and a cut in support prices, but what we really want is the competitive advantage of the UK dairy industry played to the full. We are determined to achieve that.
8. Mr. Barnes:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what further assessment has been made by his Department of the research by Dr. Harash Narang into live tests for BSE; and if he will make a statement. [27462]
Mrs. Browning:
MAFF has recently responded positively to a request to collaborate in an assessment of the effectiveness of Dr. Narang's test. The experimental procedure to be used is currently being discussed.
Mr. Barnes:
Are not live tests the answer? If they work, we would be able to incinerate the cattle with the disease. The fact that Dr. Harash Narang's work is now being looked at seriously by MAFF is welcome, but why was it blocked for so long? Why was he refused a grant in 1990? Dr. Narang first discovered the filament linked with the brain disease in 1972.
Mrs. Browning:
The SEAC has invited Dr. Narang to make available to it his information on CJD, as has MAFF on BSE. He has always declined to make it available. He has also declined to publish his work in a recognised scientific journal. The hon. Gentleman is right; a live test would be very welcome. That is why the Government are co-operating. We are talking to Dr. Narang in the hope that one will be developed quickly.
Mr. Morley:
Given the importance of a live test because of its implications for cattle slaughter, we are pleased that the Minister is taking the matter seriously. Will she comment on reports that Dr. Narang is having difficulty getting brain samples from infected cattle to continue development?
Mrs. Browning:
The substance that Dr. Narang is asking for is bovine urine. We shall be as co-operative as we can on that.
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