www.quebecoislibre.org/020119-6.htm
MUSINGS BY MADDOCKS FISHY BUSINESS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION by Ralph Maddocks In the past I have written of the strange output of the Brussels bureaucratic machine which operates the European Union. There have been regulations regarding the acceptable curvature of a banana, about permissible levels of odour in offices and other elements introduced by this exponentially growing bureaucracy. To this cornucopia of unusual regulations there can be added many others, most of them equally senseless. For example, there are regulations governing the sizes of peaches. The regulation took no account of poor harvests such as that of 1997/98. According to EC REGULATION 2335/99, smaller peaches can be sold in the winter months! The Co-op (an older form of British supermarket) declared war on Eurocrats over this, announcing that it would sell illegal undersized fruit. The Co-op says that the size requirement discriminates against organic peaches. A spokesperson said "Organic food already costs more to produce because yields are lower and labour costs are higher. Carrot sizes are a particular concern to organic growers because, according to Brussels, a carrot cannot be sold as a carrot unless its top is 20mm in diameter. Apples must be at least 65mm diameter for the larger varieties, such as Bramleys, and at least 55mm for dessert apples. Organic apples are sometime smaller and are refused by supermarkets. The minimum size for a Class 1 plum is 35mm, while a plum of 30mm, which could be just as good a quality, is graded Class 2. The egg that dare not speak its name In what astounded critics derided as a half-baked decision, European Union officials ruled last August that a new egg from Sainsbury's, a large British supermarket chain, cannot be called by its proper name all because it has been slightly heated up to get rid of hazardous bacteria. Despite looking and tasting like eggs, and of course having been laid by hens, under existing EU regulations, (EEC) No. A spokesman for the then Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries said that it was going to address the Commission to try and get the old legislation to accommodate the new technology. In Commission proposals to tighten up food safety laws, that institution stated that "snails must be killed using humane methods". Frogs, on the other hand, appear to be less privileged prey, with the Commission's draft legislation simply stating that "frogs may only be killed by slaughter in an approved establishment". As the EU matures and the 15 members expand its authority, Europeans from the North Cape to Cape Spartivento have been surprised, and at times very upset, to find its officials sticking their noses into what they can eat, how they travel, even how they incinerate their rubbish. While many Italians are strong supporters of the EU, a growing number of citizens are becoming unhappy with it. It was in Italy, that the EU's demands for strict food safety regulations governing matters from the temperature of refrigerators and the drainage systems of farmhouses to the design of sugar bowls on caf tables prompted the most astonishment and complaining. Many Italians worry that their valued culture of artisanal, small-scale food production is under siege from distant heathens. Agriculture Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio said scornfully that "the European Union said that the humidity of fresh pasta must be 'X%,' a level which is an impossibility if it is made by artisans. But this was done by some person, not from Italy maybe Swedish, British or Irish; The wood ovens reach a temperature of 450C, which is needed for the pizza to remain soft in the centre and crisp on the sides. The electric ovens prescribed by the Directive only reach 300-350C. Italy has won many exemptions from the EU food guidelines by declaring, in essence, that its methods of making meals are analogous to historical monuments worthy of special protection. In fact, the threatened bans have caused local sales of lard and the foul-smelling mouldy cheese to rocket, and at the same time made heroes of their producers. Under this assault, by what they consider to be unknowledgeable foreigners, traditional foods became so chic that in 1998 over 120,000 people attended a "Hall of Taste" in Turin. Sometimes, the Italian government takes the insurgents' side. On another occasion, the agriculture ministry published the nation's first formal list of traditional foods, meant to help producers who seek exemptions from EU hygiene rules. Nearly half of the 65,000 or so food shop owners in Italy spent as much as $15,000 each upgrading their meat cutters, refrigerators and ovens; But, as in the case of the English abattoirs, many thousands of Italian shops closed up rather than conform. Those merchants who stayed in business, complain about Italian rules designed specifically to meet EU hygiene standards that require shopkeepers to record the temperature of their refrigerator every three hours; Similarly, Italian cheese makers had to fend off an EU-mandated requirement that cheese be cured in a clean environment, lined with plastic or ceramic tile. A licence to sell Soon all food sellers, ranging from supermarkets to hot-dog stand operators, will have to carry an official registration number under new European Union food safety regulations. A compulsory registration scheme affecting more than half a million small businesses means that no traders will be licensed to sell food unless they meet strict hygiene requirements. They will also have to keep detailed records of all the ingredients they use in their foods, including their place of origin. A new breed of "food police," overseen by veterinary and environmental health officers, will be employed to ensure that the rules are obeyed. The measures, which go beyond anything imposed on British or other food businesses before, and could cost the food industry millions, covers virtually everyone selling food, including restaurants, ice-cream booths, farm shops and tearooms. David Byrne, the EU's health and consumer protection commissioner, was quoted as saying that the measures were designed to harmonise and simplify a mass of existing legislation in the EU. Even the smallest food businesses will have to follow hazard analysis procedures now employed by major food processing companies. Caterers and other food sellers would have to ensure full traceability of "all food and ingredients". Hot-dog sellers and similar small food traders could risk losing their licence to work if inspectors find breaches of the rules. This would include such infringements as handling money and food "without wearing protective gloves". Byrne could not answer questions about how the new regulations would affect such events as garden fetes, the Women's Institutes or other catering volunteers at village hall functions or charity events. It seems that this regulatory wave will again cause thousands of small independent businesses to simply give up as the pile of red tape gets higher and higher. This exponentially growing mass of regulation may improve some aspects of a particular business, but inevitably they cause serious financial damage to the smaller producers and most EU countries have seen a marked decrease in the numbers of small producers of specialised food products, especially cheeses and specialty meats. One small pork producer in the UK had charges thrown out by magistrates when the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) prosecuted him for selling three pigs that the MHS inspectors had failed to stamp with the official EU health mark. The producer though had paid the MHS 70,000 last year for its inspections, more than he earned in his business. This is just one example of the reign of terror imposed on the industry by the MHS and EU regulations. It is significant that more than half the owners of UK abattoirs now have a criminal conviction. Another small specialist meat company, Graig Farm at Llandrindod Wells, which sells organic and additive-free meat, handles only two carcasses a week. It was told that its veterinary inspection charges will increase from 600 a year to 17,000, quite obviously a financial burden that it cannot assume. After ...
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