It is by James Mackie and calls on the Parliament to urge the Executive to conduct an inquiry into the influence of supermarkets on the food chain, to examine safety issues arising from the use of chemicals to extend the shelf life of products and from central purchase and distribution; and to examine the impact of supermarket trading on local economies and small producers. Before being formally lodged, the petition was hosted on the e-petitioner site, where it gathered a total of 73 signatures during the period 2 November 2004 to 3 January 2005.Although food safety is a devolved matter, competition is reserved, and the supermarkets' influence on the food chain and local suppliers is an issue for the Office of Fair Trading.