Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the food industry about its compliance with food-related legislation.
Answered by George Eustice
My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State and I meet regularly with food industry trade associations and with individual food businesses to discuss a wide range of current policy issues. This often includes proposals for changes in food-related legislation and food industry practices, to ensure legislation is fit-for-purpose and regulation is risk-based. Compliance with existing food-related legislation is something the Government expects from all food businesses. Primary responsibility for enforcing compliance with food-related legislation rests with local authority environmental health and trading standards departments, overseen by the Food Standards Agency.
Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will assess the desirability of separating responsibility for food safety policy and responsibility for food standards policy in England between the Food Standards Agency and his Department.
Answered by George Eustice
The Food Standards Authority is responsible for food safety and food hygiene across the UK, and for food law enforcement. Their strategic objective is safer food for the nation in order to protect the consumer.
Defra is responsible for non-safety related food compositional standards and labelling policy in England. Most of these standards are set under EU legislation considered by EU Agriculture Council and there are synergies with the equivalent standards set through the Common Agricultural Policy. The underlying reason for regulating in these areas is to set internationally recognised standards to facilitate trade and ensure a level playing field for food businesses, whilst protecting consumers against product misdescription. Food composition and standards policy is not generally related to food safety.
Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of consumer confidence in the authenticity of British food.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra has not recently carried out its own assessment of consumer confidence in the authenticity of British food. However in 2013 consumer research carried out by both IGD and Mintel showed an increase in consumer trust in British food.
The IGD ShopperVista survey carried out in March 2013 found that shoppers are now nearly one and a half times more likely to buy British food than they were six years ago, with younger shoppers and families driving this growth. The Mintel report on Consumer Trust in Food, published in June 2013, found that the factor most encouraging consumer trust in food was the use of British ingredients (48%), with product origin on packaging also seen as a key factor (43%).
The Government is committed to clear and consistent labelling to help consumers make informed decisions about the food that they buy. On 13 December 2013, the European Commission adopted an Implementing Regulation setting out the detailed rules for mandatory country of origin labelling for fresh and frozen, unprocessed, pre-packed pork, poultry, sheep and goat meat. The rules come into force on 1 April 2015. Defra is reviewing with the UK food industry the current industry principles for meat labelled as ‘British', with a view to re-launching and reinforcing them alongside the new European mandatory labelling requirement.
Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether changes in the number of puppies and dogs imported from EU member states since January 2012 are consistent with AHLVA risk assessment in 2010.
Answered by George Eustice
The quantitative risk assessment carried out prior to harmonisation with the EU pet travel rules in 2012 took into account, amongst other things, a number of variables including increases in the number of pets entering the UK. The risk assessment was published in 2011 and is available here:
http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/rabies/documents/se0535-rabies-qra.pdf
Asked by: Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what evidence his Department has collected on the effect of badger culls conducted in Ireland on levels of bovine TB in that country.
Answered by George Eustice
The number of bovine TB reactors in the Republic of Ireland fell by over 65% between 1999 and 2013, from 44,903 to 15,612. This represents the lowest level since the eradication programme started in the 1950s. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's wildlife policy statement of April 2013 concludes that it is satisfied that the culling of infected badgers, which is underpinned by research studies and sound science, has led to a significant reduction in the incidence of TB in cattle over the past decade.