update-grub puts /dev/sda6 instead of UUID=xxx on kernel line

grub 0.97-29ubuntu43 produces menu.lst with

title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-7-generic
uuid 37797f98-87e5-4233-8814-c6ad5fa0b9e4
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic root=/dev/sda6 ro quiet splash quiet
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic
quiet

should not the kernel line read
 ... root=UUID=37797f98-87e5-4233-8814-c6ad5fa0b9e4 ...
or
 ... root=LABEL= ...

This menu.lst was created during an install of intrepid on a zero'd disk. What I am asking is whether update-grub should be using the UUID form for root= by default, especially for a fresh install when there is no previous menu.lst.

If so, then there is a bug in update-grub. If not, then why switch to UUID's to specify the groot and revert to the /dev/ form for the kernel line?