Fourth Report
GENERAL UPDATE
31. The Select Committee's Fourth Report
took the form of a letter of 21 April 1999 from the Clerk to the
Committee. In the letter, the Clerk spelt out five criticisms
of the Department's Response to the Third Report:
(i) The Government's attitude towards the
pig sector had been complacent;
(ii) The Government had failed to address
the issues in Recommendation (a);
(iii) The Government's response to Recommendation
(b) was inadequate;
(iv) The Government should have provided
information on relative production costs in other EU member states,
in line with Recommendation (p); and
(v) The Government should monitor all commitments
made by the BRC on welfare, sourcing and labelling as set out
in Recommendation (g).
The Report also maintained that as it was an
NDPB, the Government should have responded on behalf of the MLC.
32. The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries
and Food's letter of 9 June 1999 to the Chairman of the Select
Committee set out in some detail why the charges made in the Fourth
Report were invalid and there is little more to add. The one exception,
in respect of Recommendation (g) (see paragraph 11 of the Government's
Implementation of the Committee's Third Report), is that the Minister
of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has now appointed a "verification
officer", whose remit includes identifying cases where product
is being sold at retail or catering level which misleads the consumer
into believing it contains pork of British origin when in fact
it is imported; and checking progress on the commitment by major
retailers that all their own label fresh pork and certain processed
products such as bacon would come from stall and tether and MBM
free production systems.
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
March 2000
|
