asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the total cost is to date of the working group on honey identification; what progress it has made; and what is its future.

The working group on honey identification was set up in 1977 by the previous Government to investigate the possibility of developing analytical methods to confirm the type or geographical origin of honey on sale in the United Kingdom; this did not prove possible. I have reviewed the work and have decided no further work should be carried out. The total cost of the study was £15,000.