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1714849

registered interest
date	30/04/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Vegetarianism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a legal definition of vegetarianism.
tabling member constituency	Loughborough
tabling member printed	Jane Hunt
uin	24339
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/05/2024 answer text <p>There are no current plans to introduce a legal definition of the term ‘vegetarianism’, but the use of this and indeed any term on food, whether retailed from a shop or on a menu for out-of-home sale, must not be misleading to consumers.</p><p> </p><p>The term ‘suitable for vegetarians’ is used voluntarily by the food industry. There is no legal requirement to describe a product as either suitable or unsuitable for vegetarians.</p><p> </p><p>The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable the safe use of food. These rules mean that manufacturers, retailers and caterers should be able to demonstrate that where foods are presented as 'vegetarian' reasonable steps have been taken to avoid cross-contamination with non-vegetarian foods during storage, preparation, cooking or display.</p><p>Defra and the FSA will continue to work with businesses and consumers to ensure everyone can make safe and informed choices when purchasing items labelled as ‘vegetarian’.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 03/05/2024 10:38:16 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4839 label Biography information for Jane Hunt

1714850

registered interest
date	30/04/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Vegetarianism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing guidance for (a) food manufacturers and (b) hospitality venues serving food on the definition of vegetarianism.
tabling member constituency	Loughborough
tabling member printed	Jane Hunt
uin	24340
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/05/2024 answer text <p>The terms ‘Vegetarian’ and ‘Vegan’ do not currently have legal definitions in the UK, but the use of these and indeed any term on food, whether retailed from a shop or on a menu for out-of-home sale, must not be misleading to consumers.</p><p> </p><p>The term ‘suitable for Vegetarians’, is used voluntarily by the food industry. There is no legal requirement to describe a product as either suitable or unsuitable for vegetarians.</p><p> </p><p>There are no current plans to produce guidance specifically for food business operators on the definition of vegetarianism.</p><p> </p><p>However, Defra and the FSA will continue to work with businesses and consumers to ensure everyone can make safe and informed choices when purchasing items labelled as vegan or vegetarian.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 03/05/2024 10:36:56 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4839 label Biography information for Jane Hunt

1714851

registered interest
date	30/04/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Vegetarianism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how his Department defines vegetarian food; and whether restaurants using the same gloves to prepare food for (a) vegetarians and (b) non-vegetarians are defined as vegetarian.
tabling member constituency	Loughborough
tabling member printed	Jane Hunt
uin	24341
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/05/2024 answer text <p>The terms ‘Vegetarian’ and ‘Vegan’ do not currently have legal definitions in the UK, but the use of these and indeed any term on food, whether retailed from a shop or on a menu for out-of-home sale, must not be misleading to consumers. <br> <br> In order not to mislead, manufacturers, retailers and caterers should be able to demonstrate that where foods are presented as 'vegetarian' reasonable steps have been taken to avoid cross-contamination with non-vegetarian foods during storage, preparation, cooking or display. Food law provides a robust framework that protects public health and consumer interests and requires food businesses that produce, process, and distribute food to apply food safety controls that ensure food they place on the market is safe and is what it says it is. This includes avoiding cross contamination of foods including ensuring that work areas, surfaces and equipment used for raw and ready-to-eat food are adequately separated.</p><p><br> While it may not be possible to avoid cross-contamination in a busy kitchen, it is incumbent on a food business to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to avoid cross-contamination and where appropriate, to inform customers where there is a risk</p><p><br> Trading standards officers attached to the Local Authority are responsible for checking compliance with the food information requirements.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 03/05/2024 10:29:57 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4839 label Biography information for Jane Hunt

1714852

registered interest
date	30/04/2024
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Bovine Tuberculosis: Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he expects the bovine tuberculosis vaccine to be deployed.
tabling member constituency	Loughborough
tabling member printed	Jane Hunt
uin	24342
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/05/2024 answer text <p>Developing a vaccine against TB in cattle is one of the Government’s top priorities. Defra aims to have a deployable cattle TB vaccine (‘CattleBCG’) and a new companion DIVA skin test (to detect infected among vaccinated animals) in the next few years. Field trials of the CattleBCG vaccine and the DIVA skin test started in 2021 and are ongoing.</p><p> </p><p>Final deployment will rely on the success of the ongoing field trials, achieving UK Marketing Authorisations from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) (for both CattleBCG and the companion DIVA skin test), gaining international recognition through the World Organisation of Animal Health (WOAH) and our trading partners for both products, an IT system to record and trace vaccinated cattle, and acceptance of vaccination from stakeholders across the supply chain.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the development of a bovine TB cattle vaccine can be found on the TB Hub at <a href="https://tbhub.co.uk/resources/frequently-asked-questions/development-of-a-deployable-tuberculosis-vaccine-for-cattle/" target="_blank">https://tbhub.co.uk/resources/frequently-asked-questions/development-of-a-deployable-tuberculosis-vaccine-for-cattle/</a>.</p> answering member constituency Sherwood answering member printed Sir Mark Spencer question first answered 03/05/2024 10:34:40 answering member 4055 label Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer
tabling member	4839 label Biography information for Jane Hunt