To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will require the labelling of food products to contain information on the age of each ingredient. [82002]

Consumers need information on the minimum durability of food products, so that food can be consumed within its recommended period and while it retains its specific properties. This need is met by the legal requirement to provide 'use by' or 'best before' dates for most prepacked foods. Information on the varying ages of the individual ingredients would not enable consumers to use food within the appropriate timescale.