Written question asked by Lord Laird (Ulster Unionist Party), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Conservative) on Monday, 16 January 2012.
Agriculture: Eggs
- Question
- To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 14 December (WA 263), what are the main legal and financial obstacles to introducing a ban on imports of eggs which have been produced in illegal battery cages in non-compliant European Union member states; and why preventing the marketing of such imported eggs as Class A in the United Kingdom poses a lesser difficulty.
- Answer
-
The treaty on the functioning of the EU prohibits quantitative restrictions on imports between member states and all measures that have a similar effect, with limited exceptions to that general rule, including where they are necessary on animal health or human health grounds. It is extremely unlikely that a court would extend those exceptions to animal welfare grounds in these circumstances. The treaty states that any restriction of trade must not constitute arbitrary discrimination. Given the traceability issues around distinguishing between imported eggs that have been reared in conventional cages in other member states and those that have not, any ban would have to be on imports of all eggs from a particular country, whether reared in conventional cages or not. That would clearly penalise compliant producers in other member states, which runs contrary to the principle of the free movement of goods. The EU Commission has ruled out the option of an intra-Community trade ban, and has given strong warnings to member states seeking to introduce a unilateral ban. Therefore, we would run the high risk of the Commission taking out infraction proceedings against the UK if we took unilateral action. Class A eggs are required under the egg marketing rules to be identified with the producer code which includes the farming method i.e. code 3 for caged. From 1 January, a code 3 mark will indicate that eggs have been produced by hens in enriched cages. If we suspect that a batch of imported Class A eggs have been produced by hens in conventional cages, these eggs, that are marked with an incorrect producer code will breach the marketing rules. We will use UV light analysis on imported class A eggs and if the marking on the eggs gives rise to suspicion, we will contact the competent authority in the member state of origin. However, the import of processed egg, principally in liquid or powdered form, is less easy to trace as the supply chain is less transparent and more challenging to audit. Because of a loophole in the egg marketing regulations, we cannot prohibit the marketing of any eggs produced in conventional cages from 1 January 2012 which are sent to processing (whether sent as ungraded or Class B), nor can we prohibit the use of any products made from such eggs.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 14432; 734 c111-2WA
- Session
- 2010-12
- Related items
- Subjects
- Animal welfare EU countries EU law Eggs Import controls Poultry
- Link
- View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk
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- 2013-11-20 01:36:10 +0000
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