Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-05-14-Speech-2-348"

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"Mr President, first of all, I would like to address my thanks to our rapporteur and congratulate her on the significance and the high quality of her work. The two proposals take up some of the commitments given in the White Paper on Food Safety. They aim to improve protection of European consumers against microbiological risks from food products. We cannot underestimate the extent to which successive food crises, including those linked to salmonella, have undermined consumer confidence regarding food safety. We can, therefore, only support the approval of the two texts which have been submitted to us today. We must strengthen the monitoring and control system of zoonotic agents of animal origin in order to reduce their prevalence, whilst stressing that the effectiveness of the texts that are currently in force has been restricted by the fact that some Member States are failing to apply these texts properly. Overall, the Commission’s proposals are balanced. It might have been better, however, to go further on certain points and consequently I, like the rapporteur, believe that it would be worthwhile providing for control programmes for all the salmonella serotypes that present a risk to public health. I also wish to stress the need for strict coordination between the work of the European Food Authority and the work of the national authorities so that the early warning system functions effectively. Regarding resistance to antibiotics, I believe, like the rapporteur, that we must treat this worrying phenomenon with due attention. Careful use of antibiotics must be encouraged and the necessary studies on resistance to antibiotics must be carried out. My group also supports the amendment seeking to allow the Member States that have achieved a high level of protection to prevent, for a limited period, the placing on the market of products imported from Member States which do not yet have an approved control programme within the stipulated timeframe. This measure will act as a considerable incentive to introduce harmonisation of security levels within the internal market. I welcome the fact that the applicable control measures are based on objectives that are set every three years. This will enable us to set ambitious but realistic constraints. We must ensure that we do not go too far and impose timetables on Member States that they will be unable to apply. The Commission has, in this area, striven to achieve a balance. Like the rapporteur I believe it is important for the monitoring of zoonoses and their agents to apply to all levels of the food chain, including animal foodstuffs. My group also supports the principle of including vegetables within the scope of the directive. Lastly, we must work to ensure that these provisions are swiftly adopted and implemented, which will, I am sure, contribute to restoring European consumer confidence in food."@en1

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