It has not been possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The Secretary of State has not discussed food labelling and food provenance issues with the EU Commissioner for Agriculture as Commissioner Borg, the EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, is the most appropriate contact. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson) spoke with Commissioner Borg on 11 February and he attended the meeting with the UK and other affected member states on 13 February. At this meeting we reached agreement on a number of key issues in order to ensure that the current unacceptable situation with horsemeat cannot happen again. He made a statement detailing the outcome of that meeting on 13 February.

It would be preferable to avoid wasting the products if at all possible. The decision to relabel, redistribute or dispose of a mislabelled product lies with the business concerned. If relabelling or otherwise redistributing back into the human food chain, then the business would need to be satisfied that the product continued to be fit for human consumption in food safety terms and complied with labelling and other relevant rules.

Alternatively food business operators could dispose of the mislabelled product in accordance with animal by-products rules. We would of course encourage them to consider any environmental impact when making these decisions.

The Government supported the compromise agreement reached in the context of proposals for the European Union Food Information for Consumers Regulation 1169/2011, that method of slaughter labelling should be considered by the EU Commission in a welfare context. The Government will be working with the Commission to ensure all measures that help minimise the suffering of animals slaughtered without stunning are considered.

The fundamental principle established in food labelling law is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead. It is unacceptable for consumers to have been misled in the way uncovered by recent events. If undeclared equine and/or porcine DNA is found in beef products (eg beef burgers), there are possible offences under:

Section 15 of the Food Safety Act 1990;

the Food Labelling Regulations 1996;

the Meat Products (England) Regulations 2003 (and parallel legislation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland);

the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs); and

Regulation 4(c) of the General Food Regulations 2004 making it an offence to contravene Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.

Local authorities and port health authorities undertake thousands of analyses each year to enforce food labelling rules. If samples analysed are found not to be in line with legal requirements, follow-up investigations will be made and further enforcement action may be taken depending on the findings of the investigation, and any due diligence defence.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has regular discussions with Simon Coveney, the Irish Minister for Food, Agriculture and the Marine. He is working closely with his counterparts in Ireland, and across Europe to ensure that the current unacceptable situation with horsemeat cannot happen again. This includes a one month programme of DNA testing of beef products across the EU covering domestic and imported products, results of which need to be submitted to the European Commission on 15 April.

EU Regulation 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (EU FIC) will make nutrition labelling mandatory from 13 December 2016 for most pre-packed food. The EU FIC stipulates that the amount of energy is labelled in both kilojoules and kilocalories on both the back and front of food packs.

I have regular discussions with Simon Coveney, the Irish Minister for Food, Agriculture and the Marine. I am working closely with my counterparts in Ireland, and across Europe to ensure that the current unacceptable situation with horsemeat cannot happen again. This includes a three month programme of DNA testing of beef products across the EU covering domestic and imported products, the first results of which will be published on 15 April. I made a statement detailing next steps on 13 February 2013, Official Report, column 741W.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), spoke with Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment in Scotland, on 10 February about the ongoing investigation of horsemeat and adulterated beef products. The Food Standards Agency is working

closely with the Food Standards Agency Scotland on this investigation. Richard Lochhead agreed to support any action that could be taken which would give consumers the appropriate reassurance they need on the authenticity of foods. I had a discussion with representatives of the devolved Administrations on 13 February.

Also on 13 February the Secretary of State met agriculture Ministers from a number of other member states together with the Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner in Brussels. He requested this meeting to ensure co-ordinated action is taken across Europe so that consumers can have confidence in what they buy.

The Secretary of State updated colleagues from the devolved Administrations, including Richard Lochhead on 15 February. Richard Lochhead also attended a meeting with the food industry representatives hosted by DEFRA on 18 February.

The Secretary of State has since met Richard Lochhead at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting in Brussels on 25 February. The Secretary of State issued a written ministerial statement on 27 February 2013, Official Report, column 26-28WS, updating the House on the Council discussions.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), spoke with Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment in Scotland, on 10 February about the ongoing investigation of horsemeat and adulterated beef products. The Food Standards Agency is working

closely with the Food Standards Agency Scotland on this investigation. Richard Lochhead agreed to support any action that could be taken which would give consumers the appropriate reassurance they need on the authenticity of foods. I had a discussion with representatives of the devolved Administrations on 13 February.

Also on 13 February the Secretary of State met agriculture Ministers from a number of other member states together with the Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner in Brussels. He requested this meeting to ensure co-ordinated action is taken across Europe so that consumers can have confidence in what they buy.

The Secretary of State updated colleagues from the devolved Administrations, including Richard Lochhead on 15 February. Richard Lochhead also attended a meeting with the food industry representatives hosted by DEFRA on 18 February.

The Secretary of State has since met Richard Lochhead at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting in Brussels on 25 February. The Secretary of State issued a written ministerial statement on 27 February 2013, Official Report, column 26-28WS, updating the House on the Council discussions.

I am working closely with my counterparts in Ireland and across Europe to ensure that the current unacceptable situation with horsemeat cannot happen again. This includes a three month programme of DNA testing of beef products across the EU covering domestic and imported products, with first results by 15 April. In addition, both domestic and imported horsemeat will be tested for bute. The current paperwork based system will be replaced by a programme of testing real products.

Secondly, we agreed to a new intelligence system so that information about the current investigations can be shared immediately. This will enable other EU member states to act immediately if they have any suspicions that food businesses are not playing by the rules. Member states also agreed to use Europol to co-ordinate law enforcement efforts. Thirdly, because of the urgency with which we have to deal with what is clearly an international issue, we agreed that the European Commission's report and recommendations on labelling the origin of all processed meat should be accelerated and published as soon as possible. I expect that this will provide consumers with clearer and more reliable information on where meat products come from. I made a statement to this effect on 13 February 2013, Official Report, column 741W.

DEFRA and the Food Standards Agencies (FSA) in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland meet regularly to discuss issues related to food labelling and provenance, to exchange information and to co-ordinate our work on common areas of interest. DEFRA and the FSA have had daily contact at a high level since 14 January to discuss the specific issue of horse and pig DNA found in meat products.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), met the Irish Agriculture Minister, Simon Coveney, on 30 January and asked to be kept informed of progress on this issue. Michelle O'Neil has been included in telephone conferences and there has been regular contact at official level.

The FSA and DEFRA are monitoring the information as it emerges, both from our investigations and that of the food companies concerned, and will consider the use of legal action should that become appropriate.

DEFRA and the Food Standards Agencies (FSA) in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland meet regularly to discuss issues related to food labelling and provenance, to exchange information and to co-ordinate our work on common areas of interest. DEFRA and the FSA have had daily contact at a high level since 14 January to discuss the specific issue of horse and pig DNA found in meat products.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), met the Irish Agriculture Minister, Simon Coveney, on 30 January and asked to be kept informed of progress on this issue. Michelle O'Neil has been included in telephone conferences and there has been regular contact at official level.

The FSA and DEFRA are monitoring the information as it emerges, both from our investigations and that of the food companies concerned, and will consider the use of legal action should that become appropriate.

DEFRA and the Food Standards Agencies (FSA) in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland meet regularly to discuss issues related to food labelling and provenance, to exchange information and to co-ordinate our work on common areas of interest. DEFRA and the FSA have had daily contact at a high level since 14 January to discuss the specific issue of horse and pig DNA found in meat products.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), met the Irish Agriculture Minister, Simon Coveney, on 30 January and asked to be kept informed of progress on this issue. Michelle O'Neil has been included in telephone conferences and there has been regular contact at official level.

The FSA and DEFRA are monitoring the information as it emerges, both from our investigations and that of the food companies concerned, and will consider the use of legal action should that become appropriate.

I am working closely with my counterparts in Ireland and across Europe to ensure that the current unacceptable situation with horsemeat cannot happen again, this includes a three month programme of DNA testing of beef products across the EU covering domestic and imported products, the first results will be published on 15 April. Meat products across the EU will be DNA tested for horsemeat. In addition, both domestic and imported horsemeat will be tested for bute. The current system is based on paperwork, this introduces a programme of testing real products.

Secondly, we agreed to a new intelligence system so that information about the current investigations can be shared immediately. This will enable other member states to act straight away if they have any suspicions that food businesses are not playing by the rules. Members states also agreed to use Europol to co-ordinate law enforcement efforts. Thirdly, because of the urgency with which we have to deal with what is clearly an international issue, we agreed that the European Commission's report and recommendations on labelling

the origin of all processed meat should be accelerated and published as soon as possible. I expect that this will provide consumers with clearer and more reliable information on where meat products come from. The Secretary of State made a statement to this effect on 13 February.

I have had several discussions on these matters with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson). I have also spoken twice to the Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development and I discussed these matters with the Tánaiste when I visited Dublin on 11 February.

The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning), discussed the same issues with the Northern Ireland Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Belfast on 13 February.

Following my second discussion with the DARD Minister I issued a press statement expressing my confidence in the Northern Ireland Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme and the reassurance it gives to consumers who purchase meat with the Farm Quality Assured logo that it is wholesome, safe and free from unnatural substances.

The text of my statement can be accessed at:

http://www.nio.gov.uk/Media-Centre/News