Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-25-Speech-3-019"
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".
Mr President, the Commission proposal and the report by Mr Bowis deserve our unqualified support. Food must be safe and must be pure. We must be certain that the carcasses of BSE cows do not end up in the food chain. We must be able to rely on the fact that salmonella is being tackled. But that confidence is being shattered time after time. The more than eighty measures from the White Paper are therefore indispensable.
Setting up the European Food Safety Agency is a major step in the right direction. Its key task is providing scientific advice, for the discussion on food safety must be pure too. Emotions run high where food is concerned: against globalisation, large-scale production and genetic modification, and in favour of local produce, tradition and diversity. Those emotions are often justified, but we must ensure that they do not become a cover for protectionism. Whilst acknowledging the boom in ready-made food, we must also adopt a pro-active approach. The new food must be of quality, the ingredients traceable, and labels must offer honest information. Consumers deserve a choice. The food authority must provide objective information to both consumers and decision makers.
As draftsman of the opinion of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, I would like to highlight a few points. Decision-making must be clear and transparent. As duplication of the work and of scientific research must be avoided, we need to collaborate with national research institutes and the joint research centres. In addition, food safety is a matter for the entire food sector, from the farmer right down to the consumer. Sound communication between consumers, producers, the retail trade, workers and transporters is crucial. So is attention to diversity in the SMEs. Strict requirements and effective control are indispensable, but competition should be kept clean in the process.
Finally, my Committee argues in favour of a strategy for third countries and candidate countries. Food safety is a global task; we should not cut ourselves off from produce from the United States or developing countries. We must work towards a joint agenda.
I would just like to thank the rapporteur for his constructive contribution and for his willingness to take on board the recommendations from other Committees."@en1
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