What estimate his Department has made of the volume of wastage of edible food arising from date stamping and food labelling practices; and if he will make a statement.

The Waste and Resources Action Programme has estimated that 370,000 tonnes of food that is past its "best before" date but still probably safe to eat is thrown away by householders each year. The "best before" date is an indicator of quality rather than of food safety. I have no comparable statistics for the commercial sector.

I welcome my hon. Friend to the Dispatch Box and thank him for that reply. A number of my constituents have contacted me expressing real concern about the extraordinarily high level of edible waste that disappears into dustbins. They feel that we should be able to attack the problem in a number of ways. First, individuals should ensure that they do not waste as much food; secondly, supermarkets should cut back on their three-for-two offers, which encourage over-buying; and thirdly, the food industry should buy into the labelling. What additional help will the Government offer, and when does my hon. Friend expect the Food Standards Agency review on labelling to report?

I thank my hon. Friend for her comments. The key thing is that energy from waste is only one part of the picture; the Government's priority is to consider waste prevention, reuse and recycling ahead of energy from waste. I do not have the specific answer to my hon. Friend's question, but I will write to her with it.