| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford): As my right hon. Friend is surely aware, the G8 communique has said that references are to be made to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development scientific committees, for them to look into the products of genetic modification. Does he believe that those new studies, to be undertaken in the EU, will have any implications for the Food Standards Agency? Will he, under his wider responsibilities, ensure that the terms of reference of those studies are made available to Members of the House?
Mr. Brown: One of the purposes of the creation of the agency is to ensure transparency. I welcome the work that the OECD is to undertake. In particular, I think it is right to consider both the food safety and the trade aspects of the new technology. It is the Government's desire to be candid with the House and to ensure that information is in the public domain. I therefore give my hon. Friend, as far as it is my place to do so, the assurances that she seeks.
Mr. Anthony Steen (Totnes) rose--
Mr. Chris Mullin (Sunderland, South) rose--
Mr. Christopher Gill (Ludlow) rose--
Mr. Brown: I shall give way first to the hon. Member for Totnes (Mr. Steen), secondly to my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) and thirdly to the hon. Member for Ludlow (Mr. Gill).
Mr. Steen: As I understand it, the incidence of food poisoning has increased in this country every year, and has increased fivefold since 1982. Each year since 1982, there have been more rules and regulations for food hygiene. Presumably, the new agency will recommend even more rules and regulations for food hygiene. Has the Minister estimated how many extra cases of food poisoning will result from the existence of the agency, which will make us cleaner and cleaner, and produce more and more cases of food poisoning?
Mr. Brown: The agency will provide effective advice to those who prepare and sell food, either in the catering industry or the retailing industry, those who store it and those who prepare food at home. There is a range of reasons for outbreaks of food poisoning and a range of methods to address them. That is not done just through the regulatory regime. Clear-cut advice to the public has an important part to play, in which the agency will provide a particular service and impetus.
Mr. Mullin: I see no reference in the Bill to farm animal welfare as it impacts on food safety. My right
hon. Friend is aware that the rise in food poisoning, to which the hon. Member for Totnes (Mr. Steen) referred, is directly related to the growth of industrial farming and, for example, the massive misuse of antibiotics. Will the agency have the power to make suggestions about the way in which farm animals are reared, where that can be shown to be connected to the safety of food?
Mr. Brown: On the use of antibiotics as growth promoters rather than as veterinary interventions, yes, the agency will give advice to Ministers. The issue is under consideration at European Union level in the Council of Ministers.
On farm animal welfare, I know that my hon. Friend will join me in welcoming the toughest statement yet from Agriculture Ministers in the EU and the Commission, following the outcome of our latest meeting at Luxembourg on the trade aspects of animal welfare. As part of the forthcoming World Trade Organisation round, we have agreed to seek recognition for animal welfare measures within the WTO rules. As my hon. Friend knows, in the current WTO rules, there is no specific recognition of animal welfare, as opposed to animal hygiene and whether the product is fit for human consumption.
Mr. Gill:
The Minister said that the role of the Food Standards Agency was to inform, help and advise the industry. Does that rule out the possibility of the FSA being an enforcing agency as well?
Mr. Brown:
The FSA is an enforcing agency, but only of the rules that have been agreed by Parliament. It would be a rather feeble set-up if the agency could tell us what was wrong, but could not do anything about it. The functions being transferred to the agency are those that are at present carried out by food safety officials in my Department, by officials in the Department of Health and by the Meat Hygiene Service, which is a regulatory and advisory service. The agency will have responsibility for enforcing the rules that Parliament has agreed. As well as advising the public and the industry, it will advise Ministers. If necessary, Ministers will have to act on that advice and bring proposals before Parliament.
The hon. Gentleman can, I hope, take some comfort from the fact that the Bill contains a clear statement that the policy advice must be proportionate to risk. In other words, we want the public to be protected, but we do not want the agency to become over-regulatory and bureaucratic, which I expect is the fear that lies behind the hon. Gentleman's question.
Mr. David Maclean (Penrith and The Border)
rose--
Mr. Brown:
I am willing to take a further intervention.
Mr. Maclean:
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. His comments provoked me to rise. If he and his officials conclude that, in a particular case, the agency is being over-cautious, and that its advice on new regulations is not proportionate to the risk assessed by him and his officials or by Department of Health officials, will he be able to stand in the way of a powerful new agency clamouring for new legislation?
Mr. Brown:
Ultimately, those are decisions for Ministers and for the House. The lead Minister will be
Mr. Brown:
One more go, then I must make progress.
Mr. Steen:
Will the agency have its own team of hygiene police?
Mr. Brown:
The entire Meat Hygiene Service is being transferred to the agency. As the hon. Gentleman will know, the Meat Hygiene Service currently operates as a next steps agency reporting to my Department; it will operate as a stand-alone next steps agency reporting to the Food Standards Agency, which in turn will report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health in respect of seeking a legislative route. That does not mean that there will be no consultation with my Department. Responsibilities for industry sponsorship, for example, remain with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and, clearly, we will want to establish a good working relationship with the agency and a clear dialogue. I have no doubt whatever that we will be able to do that.
Mr. Mullin:
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for allowing me to intervene a second time. I certainly welcome the progress that has been made regarding the WTO, but my question was about the powers of the agency. Does he accept that there is a clear relationship between the way in which farm animals are treated and the safety of much of the food that we eat? If he does, what powers will the agency have to address that problem?
Mr. Brown:
I do accept that, and there are enforcement mechanisms in place for farm animal welfare for the different livestock regimes. Indeed, at the Council in Luxembourg, we agreed to alter the rules for laying hens, which is a welcome and long-overdue reform. There are other regimes in place and a base level of animal welfare regulation is being introduced throughout the European Union. That forms the basis in respect of trade.
The hygiene levels that farmers are obliged to meet for the purposes of food safety probably fall short of what my hon. Friend means by acceptable animal welfare. For that reason, I and other Ministers who are coming from essentially the same direction are trying to raise animal welfare standards throughout the EU, to consider carefully what impact that will have on trade with third countries and to achieve some international recognition of the importance of animal welfare, especially in the increasingly liberalised world trading environment.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |