Politics of Nationalism must be taken out of food

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Sat 30th Oct 1999

Commenting on the EU scientific committees decision on UK beef exports, Liberal Democrat Euro-MP Andrew Duff said:

"I very much welcome the outcome of the EU scientific committees decision on the status of UK beef exports.

"It is a victory not only for good science, but also for the political and legal authority of the European Union.

"I trust that the French government will lift its ban promptly.

"But it would be quite wrong for us in Britain to gloat. As yet, only one abattoir in this country meets EU standards; beef on the bone is still banned; and many British people share the genuine concern of the French public about the hygiene of the feed we eat from whatever source.

"The petty nationalism of much of the British press and the histrionics of many politicians do us all a disservice. The issues of public health and animal welfare are serious and deserve real solutions.

"That is why the European Liberal Democrats are proposing the establishment of a European-wide Food Safety Agency.

"This body, which would be accountable to the European Parliament, would take the politics of nationalism out of food.

"It would draw on the existing, disparate food authorities in each member state and establish a common regime of high standards enforceable everywhere.

"Had such an EU body already been in existence, the beef crisis would have been settled much earlier.

"The British government would have been unable to conceal what was going on in its farming industry; and the French government would have been unable to thwart EU policy."