Page 4004 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 23 October 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MINISTER FOR HEALTH,EDUCATION AND THE ARTS
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTION
QUESTION TAKEN ON NOTICE ON 12 SEPTEMBER 1990
Free-Range Eggs
Mr Stevenson - asked the minister for Health, Education and the Arts:
How can Canberrans be certain that allegedly free range eggs on sale in the ACT are genuine as against battery hen eggs? What steps will the minister take to bring about truth in marketing so that eggs labelled free range eggs, open range eggs or similar do in fact comply with the animal liberation minimum standards. Will the animal liberation standards be included in the new ACT food standards code, - such standard, having been adopted by every State but not yet by the ACT? And when will the ACT enact this code under the ACT food and drugs regulations? Information I was given would certainly seem to show that there are eggs being advertised as free range that are not.
Mr Humphries - the answer to Mr Stevensons question is:
Officers of the Health Surveillance Service have investigated the matter and have advised that those eggs purporting to be "free range" and packed in sealed cartons with details of the poultry farm on the seal, are legitimate free range eggs. There may, however, be other suppliers that have not been discovered as yet by the Service.
I am advised that the proposed Food Standards Code will not adopt the requirements of the animal liberation movement unless agreement to do so is reached nationally.
This would require national agreement that the Food Standards Code was in fact the correct vehicle for this purpose.
It is considered that food legislation would not be the appropriate vehicle to control any malpractice of substitution in that;
Health legislation is designed to protect health, nutritional standards, etc.
There would need to be an identified nutritional taste, or food quality difference between free range eggs and battery eggs.
4004
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .