Health and Community Care Committee, 18 Sep 2002

Meeting date: Wednesday, September 18, 2002

Official Report 343KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning)<br />(West Coast) (No 11) (Scotland) Order 2002 (SSI 2002/388)

Before I let the minister leave, I move on to item 4, which is the emergency affirmative instrument on amnesic shellfish poisoning.

I have a feeling of déjà vu.

Today's debate concerns the emergency order to ban the catching of king scallops in waters off the west coast of Rum. The order prohibits the harvesting of king scallops and has been triggered by the finding of levels of amnesic shellfish poison above the action levels set by Europe. The order is a consumer safety measure—scallops that contain high levels of the toxin can cause illness in humans, ranging from dizziness and headaches to extremes such as paralysis, coma and death if a large amount of toxin is ingested.

I move,

That the Health and Community Care Committee, in consideration of The Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning) (West Coast) (No 11) (Scotland) Order 2002, recommends that the order be approved.

The Subordinate Legislation Committee has nothing to report and we have received no comments from members. Are we all agreed to the motion?

Members indicated agreement.

That concludes the public part of the meeting. We now move into private session for a briefing on the Mental Health (Scotland) Bill.

Meeting continued in private until 13:59.