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Food Labelling
23. Ms Keeble: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to improve food labelling for consumers. [17687]
28. Ms Beverley Hughes: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the Government's policy on improving food labelling information for consumers. [17693]
Mr. Rooker:
I refer my hon. Friends to the answer I gave to our hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Maryhill (Mrs. Fyfe) on 6 November 1997, Official Report, column 339.
4 Dec 1997 : Column: 354
24. Mr. Baker:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the provision of abattoirs. [17688]
Mr. Rooker:
There are currently 29 abattoirs operating the Over Thirty Months Scheme (OTMS) in the UK. These were awarded contracts in July 1997 following a competitive tender exercise run by the Intervention Board. It was necessary to reduce the number of abattoirs participating in OTMS as numbers of cattle entering the scheme diminished.
The plants were chosen on the basis of objective criteria, principally proximity to the main production areas, hygiene standards and value for money. Together, they provide more than enough capacity to handle the number of animals now expected to come forward under the OTMS, with an allowance which can be factored in to cope with seasonal fluctuations.
Some journey times may have increased, but in general, all cattle are travelling no further to abattoirs than they were prior to the OTMS and in many cases the distances are shorter. Also, the number of livestock markets participating in the scheme has not changed, so access for farmers should not have been seriously affected.
Although there are no OTMS abattoirs in Sussex, sufficient capacity is available in the South East to handle effectively all cattle presented under the scheme in the area.
25. Mr. Lepper:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much his Department spends on (a) food safety and (b) standards surveys; and how much he expects to spend in the current year. [17689]
Mr. Rooker:
The Department spends about £8.5 million on food surveys of which more than 95 per cent. is on food safety. Microbiological surveillance accounts for £413,000 with the remainder funding the food chemical surveillance programme. A similar level of spend is expected for the current year.
Mr. Canavan:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to improve standards of food safety. [17691]
Mr. Rooker:
We are already taking such steps by the establishment of the Food Standards Agency and other related measures.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish the number of food samples submitted each year from 1990 to date to public analysts for analysis; and if he will make a statement. [18911]
Mr. Rooker:
The information requested forms part of our statistical return to the EU Commission, which is published and copies of which are placed in the Library of the House. However, the specific information requested is as follows:
| Year | Number of samples(13) (UK figures) |
|---|---|
| 1996 | 62,350 |
| 1995 | 63,726 |
| 1994 | 65,162 |
| 1993 | 67,959 |
| 1992 | 65,398 |
| 1991 | 46,976 |
| 1990 | (14)-- |
(13) These are official samples only, i.e. those taken for the purpose of enforcement of the Food Safety Act 1990. They do not include samples taken for surveillance or other purposes, for which information is not held centrally.
(14) No data collected.
4 Dec 1997 : Column: 355
Fruit Harvest
27. Dr. Stoate: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from fruit growers regarding problems experienced with the present year's harvest. [17692]
Mr. Rooker: The Department has received a number of representations in writing from Members on behalf of fruit growing constituents and from individual growers. In addition the matter was discussed when my noble Friend the Parliamentary Secretary met the Horticultural Executive of the National Farmer's Union in July and subsequently visited fruit growers in Kent.
Beef Ban
Mr. Charles Kennedy: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on progress towards the lifting of the beef ban. [17690]
Dr. Jim Cunningham: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today to my hon. Friend the Member for Carmarthen, West and South Pembrokeshire (Mr. Ainger).
Rabies Committee
Mr. Malins: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the composition of the Kennedy Committee of Inquiry into rabies and quarantine has been finalised; and what is the target date for it to report. [18351]
Mr. Rooker: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) on 24 November 1997, Official Report, columns 410-11.
Live Animal Exports
Dr. Palmer: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 18 November 1997, Official Report, column 117, to which countries the pigs exported for breeding from January to October 1997 were exported. [18494]
Mr. Rooker:
The computer records of animal health UK export certifications show the countries concerned as Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Chile, China, Columbia, Cyprus, Denmark, Falkland Islands, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Japan, Malaysia (Peninsula), Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Russia, United States of America, Venezuela, Vietnam.
4 Dec 1997 : Column: 356
The information is provisional and subject to change.
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to which elements of the Agenda 2000 proposals he plans to propose amendments. [18801]
Mr. Rooker:
The Government will respond to the Commission's formal legislative proposals once they have been published.
Mr. Jack:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a breakdown of the cost elements and the amounts involved which he used to determine his current published estimated costs of a computerised cattle passport. [18831]
Dr. John Cunningham:
The cost of a cattle passport under the Cattle Tracing System has not yet been determined, although it is expected to be in the range of £5 to £10. The current estimated costs of the Cattle Tracing System are broken down as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| Set-up cost | |
| Database development | 3.5 |
| Project management | 2.3 |
| British Cattle Movement Service (Accommodation) | 3.4 |
| British Cattle Movement Service (Equipment and Services) | 3.8 |
| Total | 13 |
| Annual running costs | |
| Staff costs | 3.2 |
| Accommodation, administration and consumables | 3.0 |
| Common services and depreciation | 2.8 |
| Office supplies (including cost of "freepost" system for reporting cattle movements) | 6.0 |
| Total | 15 |
Mr. Jack: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the estimated establishment cost of his proposed computerised cattle passport scheme; which MAFF locations will be involved in operating it and what will be their annual running costs; and what are the estimated running costs of the new scheme for each of the first three years of its operation. [18829]
Dr. John Cunningham: The Cattle Tracing System will not only provide cattle passports, but also a computerised register of all cattle in Great Britain, their location and their movement history. The estimated establishment cost is around £13 million. It will be operated by the British Cattle Movement Service, which will be part of my Department, based at Workington in Cumbria. The estimated running costs of the system for each of the first three years of operation are likely to be around £15 million per year.
Mr. Drew:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what charges will be made for the cattle passport scheme; what will be the costs of (a) its establishment and (b) its administration; and if these will be recovered in full from farmers. [18940]
4 Dec 1997 : Column: 357
Mr. Rooker:
I refer my hon. Friend to the replies given by my right hon. Friend the Minister to the right hon. Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack) today.
Mr. Jack:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the advice from the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food on the sale of raw cows' milk for drinking consumption. [18717]
Dr. John Cunningham:
The advice of the Committee is unequivocal. This is why I have arranged public consultation on a proposal to ban the sale in England, Wales and Northern Ireland of raw cows' milk for drinking. We will reflect further when the results of public consultation are available.
Mr. Jack:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what factors underlay his decision to consult interested parties on the sale of unpasteurised cows' milk for drinking consumption. [18716]
Dr. John Cunningham:
After careful consideration of the issues, the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food expressed concern about the microbiological quality of unpasteurised cows' milk for drinking and recommended that the sale of such milk be banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Such sales are already banned in Scotland.
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