Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Hoyle (Labour). It was answered on Wednesday, 13 May 2009.

House of Lords: Pork and Bacon

Question: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that reply, although there is more than a whiff of hypocrisy about it. After all, I and many others on all sides of the House have argued that it should not be a matter of price. We have urged the British consumer to buy British bacon because of the higher welfare standards that are applied in this country. Will the noble Lord also take into account the presence in Dutch bacon of a deadly form of MRSA, ST398, which can cause skin infection, heart trouble and pneumonia? Is he not putting people in this country at risk, particularly as the strain has passed from animals to humans? Indeed, when Dutch farmers go into hospital, they go into isolation. Why is he putting the British consumer and those who buy bacon in this House at risk in this way?

Answer: My Lords, the noble Lord’s first comment was to accuse me of hypocrisy, which I find slightly strange. The question is one of price. It is our job to offer value for money to our customers in the River Restaurant. The market is price-sensitive and we charge considerably less than the House of Commons, which serves British bacon. Ours is about half the price. Bearing in mind that the staff are some of the lower paid in the Palace of Westminster, I think that that is right. It is fine for people such as the noble Lord and, indeed, me to buy British bacon for ourselves, but when we are dealing with other people we have to offer value for money. As far as MRSA is concerned, I read the article in, I think, the Daily Express a couple of weeks ago. I do not think that it has been followed up by anybody else, so I do not know whether it is true or not. If it were true, it would be a matter for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and not for us to deal with.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 710 c1035-6
Session: 2008-09
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Catering Contamination House of Lords Procurement Prices MRSA Netherlands Pigmeat Refreshment Department (HL)
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk