<p>Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople</p>

Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 1:44 pm on 1 February 2017.

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Photo of Mr Simon Thomas Mr Simon Thomas Plaid Cymru 1:44, 1 February 2017

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, and I accept, of course, this is very much a fluid situation. I don’t think that we’ve had new cases in Wales this year, but that’s not to say that we won’t. There is, however, a real issue here because, if free-range status is removed from eggs at the end of February, then, quite frankly, consumers won’t know what they’re buying. With what’s been talked about by the British Egg Industry Council, for example, about the material in supermarkets, information and so forth, I think we’ll lose some of the confidence that consumers have in free-range eggs—very important in the Welsh context—and there will be confusion as to what’s free-range and what’s not. We’ve spent many years working with consumers to persuade them of the animal welfare issues around free-range eggs and people have come with us and are prepared to pay more, which in turn has meant more investment in the industry in Wales. So, if this does carry on past 28 February, what steps are you doing already with supermarkets and egg suppliers in Wales to ensure the consumer really understands the reason for such a change in the designation of the eggs they buy and that we can have ready-made the kind of stickers and information that will go on the eggs sold in Wales, so that people really understand the situation?