Asked by: Lee Barron (Labour - Corby and East Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent retailers from misrepresenting the origin of (a) meat and (b) dairy products that are not (i) raised and (ii) produced in the UK.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK maintains high standards on the information provided on food labels and packaging so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy.
Country of origin information is required for fresh and frozen meat of beef, sheep, goat, pigs and poultry, as well as uncut fresh fruit and vegetables, honey, olive oil, wine and some fish products. The fundamental principles of our food labelling rules are that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable consumers to make informed decisions. Under existing food labelling rules, food that is not of UK origin cannot be labelled in a way, such as with pictures or words, that states or suggests it is of UK origin. This includes the way in which foods are arranged and the setting in which they are displayed.
If processed food products made in the UK provide that origin information to the consumer, the information must also make clear if the primary ingredient is not from the UK e.g. label with 'British cheese made with milk from Ireland’. Shops will often voluntarily label their British cheese, hams and bacon when they are made from British milk and meat, helping shoppers easily identify and buy great British produce.
Asked by: Lee Barron (Labour - Corby and East Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department issues on licence approvals for incineration plants in residential areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for assessing environmental permit applications for new incinerators to operate in England and has a duty to assess any application it receives against the requirements of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations (EPR) 2016.
The EA must follow the guidance on determining permit applications which is set out in Section 7 of the EPR Core Guidance and in the EPR Part A Guidance, including for incinerators in residential areas. The guidance documents can be found at the following links:
As set out in the guidance, in England all large incinerators must comply with strict emission limits and the Best Available Techniques (BAT) conclusions for waste incineration. If impacts from an incinerator could cause an Air Quality Limit or Standard to be exceeded for the local area (as set out in the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010), a lower limit for the relevant pollutant could be specified in the permit, or the permit may be refused. The EA will only grant a permit if it is satisfied that the proposal would not give rise to any significant pollution of the environment or harm to human health.