Chamber and committees

I set out the position onthe national seed listing of Chardon LL in my ministerial statement on 10 March 2004.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-6758 on 19 March 2004.All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

Article 4.1 of the Habitats Directive provides guidance on the selection process for SpecialAreas of Conservation. This states that member states should propose a list ofsites based on the criteria laid out in Annex III of the Directive and relevantscientific information. On the basis of these criteria, member states will designateareas according to their relative value for the conservation of each naturalhabitat type identified in Annex I of the Directive.

Theweb link to the Habitats Directive is:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/nature/habdir.htm.

In accordance with Article4.2 the UK list of raised bog sites has been the subject of detailed discussionwith the European Commission.

Twenty five sites have been designated as candidate SpecialAreas of Conservation for active raised bog in Scotland. This is around 9% of the sites identified as supporting some amount of active bog in the ScottishNatural Heritage report An inventory of lowland raised bogs in Great Britain (Lindsay, R.A. and Immirzi,P., 1996).

Twenty two sites have beendesignated as candidate Special Areas of Conservation for degraded raised bogstill capable of natural regeneration. This is just over 6% of the sitesidentified as supporting some amount of bog capable of regeneration in the samereport.

Many of the sites describedin the inventory are small remnants of previously larger sites.

It is estimated that approximately3,300 hectares of bog habitat meets the definition of active raised bog, andthat approximately 5,500 hectares meet the definition of degraded raised bogcapable of natural regeneration.

I am advised by the FoodStandards Agency that it publishes all results from surveys and research thatit commissions. Results from previous dioxins surveys are in the public domain,and more results are due to be published shortly. The agency also aims topublish, by the end of 2004, results from a larger survey of dioxins in fish,including wild and farmed salmon. In 2001, the agency published detailed advicefrom the independent advisory committee, the committee on toxicity of chemicalsin food, consumer products and the environment, explaining howtolerable daily intakes of dioxins are calculated. All of this information ispublicly available on the agency’s web-site.

I am advised by the FoodStandards Agency that the recent publication of an American study in thejournal Science, does not give rise to any new food safety concerns, and thelevels of dioxins found in the farmed salmon and the resultant intakes arebelow the safety levels set by the World Health Organisation, the EuropeanUnion and the United States Food and Drug Administration.

The Food Standards Agencycontinues to advise consumers, on the basis of expert scientific opinion, toeat at least two portions of fish per week, once of which should be an oilyfish such as salmon. Independent experts agree that the known health benefitsfrom eating a portion of oily fish per week outweigh any possible risks.

I am advised by the FoodStandards Agency that based on expert scientific opinion, it recommends thatconsumers should aim to eat at least two portions of fish per week, one ofwhich should be oily such as salmon, either farmed or wild. The known healthbenefits of eating oily fish at this level outweigh any possible risks. In2003, the Food Standards Agency asked a group of experts to advise on thebalance of risks and benefits of regularly eating more than this over manyyears. This group will report later this year. Most people in the UK do noteat enough oily fish, average consumption being only a quarter of a portion perweek.

I am advised by the FoodStandards Agency that currentGovernment advice, based on expert scientific opinion, is that consumers shouldaim to eat at least two portions of fish a week, one of which should be oily. Thebiggest diet-related risk to UK health is heart disease and oily fish, includingsalmon, contain fatty acids that help prevent this.

Guidance on fish consumptionin schools is already set out within the document Hungry for Success: AWhole School Approach to School Meals in Scotland which was produced by theExpert Panel on School Meals in November 2002.

Hospitals are expected tomeet the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland Standards for the provision of food,fluid and nutritional care. A national nutritional and catering specificationfor hospitals is being developed but there are no plans for specific guidanceon salmon.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-5447 on 9 February 2004.All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.