Written question asked by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 7 September 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 16 September 2004. It was answered by Melanie Johnson (Labour) on Thursday, 16 September 2004 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he intends to take to prevent the inclusion in foods labelled as vegetarian of processing agents derived from animals.

Answer: Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he intends to take to prevent the inclusion in foods labelled as vegetarian of processing agents derived from animals. [188056] Miss Melanie Johnson: On 24 September, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) plans to hold a stakeholder meeting to discuss the labelling of vegetarian products. The meeting will consider whether establishment of FSA advice for industry and enforcement authorities on use of the terms `vegetarian' and `vegan' would be helpful. The Food Safety Act 1990 and the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 already contain provisions outlawing false or misleading labelling. The FSA considers that the presence of processing agents derived from animals in a food labelled as `suitable for vegetarians' would contravene this legislation, which is enforced by local authorities.

Secondary information