Beef label laws absurd, say farmers

5 June 2000



Beef label laws absurd, say farmers

by Alistair Driver

PROPOSALS to include the sex of the animal on beef labels as part of new labelling legislation are absurd, farmers leaders have claimed.

European agriculture ministers have suggested that forthcoming laws should require all beef to show the type of animal from which the meat is from.

The European Commission wants to introduce the beef labelling legislation across Europe by 1 September 2000.

Tim Bennett, deputy president of the National Farmers Union is due to meet MEPs in Brussels on Tuesday (6 June) to discuss the matter.

Representatives from the British Meat Federation, the British Retail Consortium and the Meat and Livestock Commission will also attend the meeting.

Mr Bennett will call for a sense of realism saying the UK supported the proposal to make it compulsory to label beef with its country of origin.

But labelling beef with the sex of the animal will impose huge costs on Britains beef industry and offer no further safeguards to consumers.

The NFU hopes to persuade MEPs to amend the proposal in the European Parliament when it arises again at the beginning of July.

MEPs have thrown out the additional labelling demand once, but it was reintroduced by the council of agriculture ministers.

The National Beef Association (NBA), which did not send a delegate to Brussels this week, expects MEPs to amend the proposal again.

It claims that European cattle slaughterers would pass back to farmers the extra 8p/kg it the cost of processing and packaging a beef carcass.

Turning the proposal into legislation will also make beef from young bulls harder to sell, said Robert Robinson, NBA chairman.

To put salt into the wound there would be no requirement for beef imported from outside the EU to meet any of the Commissions new labelling rules.