Written question asked by William Bain (Labour) on Tuesday, 5 July 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 7 July 2011. It was answered by James Paice (Conservative) on Tuesday, 12 July 2011 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dairy Products: Meat

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proposals she has to reduce waste in (a) dairy supply chains and (b) red meat supply chains.

Answer: The Government are working closely with the livestock industry on its product roadmaps. They are good examples of what can be achieved by bringing producers, processers and retailers together to commit themselves to more sustainable operation. The recently published Dairy Roadmap sets targets for waste recycling and recovery for both farmers and processers, and on amounts of recyclate used in packaging for retailers. Part two of The English Beef and Sheep Production Roadmap also looks at waste and efficiency issues through supply chains, extending the work begun on greenhouse gases in part one. While April's publication of the English Pig Meat Roadmap highlights the importance of animal health and carcase utilisation issues in avoiding waste in that sector. The Roadmaps can be found at:"http://www.dairyco.net/library/research-development/environment/dairy-roadmap.aspx""http://www.eblex.org.uk/publications/corporate.aspx""http://www.bpex.org.uk/Article.aspx?ID=301329"Additionally the Waste Resource Action programme (WRAP) carries out a range of activities to encourage the prevention of waste. These include:"The provision of online tools and case studies;""The facilitation of agreements to reduce waste from their products; for example, the Courtauld Commitment which concerns the reduction of packaging waste in the grocery sector."

Secondary information