Vol. 396 No. 6
141 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if there is a requirement under existing food labelling regulations to declare that food has been subjected to ionising irradiation; if the omission of information as to whether food has been irradiated would create confusion in the mind of the purchaser; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Existing food labelling regulations require that the name under which a foodstuff is sold must include or be accompanied by particulars of any treatment which it has undergone in all cases where the omission of such information could create confusion in the mind of the purchaser. The question of whether any particular foodstuff has been labelled in accordance with the regulations is a matter for the courts to decide. Decisions to prosecute for possible noncompliance are the responsibility of the health boards and the Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trade.
I should add that, because of differing views as to whether the omission of an indication that a foodstuff had been irradiated could create confusion in the mind of a purchaser, a directive was adopted in June 1989 — Council Directive 89/395/EEC of 14 June 1989, OJ No. L 186/17 — which, inter alia, explicitly requires that any foodstuff which has been treated with ionising radiation must bear the words “irradiated” or “treated with ionising radiation”. Member states are required to give effect to this directive by June 1992.
