EC Takes Action Against U.K. Food Safety Violations

October 16, 2006 // Published as a news service by IHS

The European Commission (EC) initiated infringement proceedings against the U.K. government due to its lack of response to identified food safety problems in a U.K. dairy establishment. The EC considers that the failure by national authorities to take appropriate measures in response to unlawful and unhygienic practices in Bowland Dairy (see IP/06/1337) constitutes an infringement of European Union (EU) legislation.

In the EC's opinion, the U.K. government did not fulfill its obligation to effectively enforce EU rules and mitigate risks to consumer safety, despite being fully aware of the serious problems that the EU's Food and Veterinary Office found in this dairy. The EC is particularly concerned about the acceptance shown by the U.K. authorities towards placing milk on the market that tested positive for antibiotics and which was not shown to be within the required EU maximum residue levels.

Background
Member states must enforce food law, plus monitor and verify that the relevant requirements are met by business operators at all stages of production and processing. For that purpose, they are required to maintain a system of official controls and food safety surveillance, and must have procedures in place to ensure that corrective action is taken whenever needed. In particular, whenever non-compliance is detected, appropriate measures must be taken to remedy the situation.

The U.K. Food Safety Authority (FSA) was informed as early as mid-June of the shortcomings and unlawful practices identified by the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) during a visit to Bowland Dairy Products Ltd in Lancashire. The FSA was also informed of the EC's concerns about the unlawful placing on the market of raw milk for which compliance with EU maximum residues levels for antibiotics could not be ensured.

The EC alerted the U.K. authorities and repeatedly demanded that the responsible food operators and U.K. authorities immediately address the problems and prevent products unfit for human consumption from reaching consumers. The Bowland case was discussed by all member states on a number of occasions, including in standing committee meetings in July and September. A follow-up FVO inspection in September found persistent non-compliance in the dairy, while extensive discussions between the EC and the U.K. authorities revealed that they took no effective action to ensure that the dairy came into full compliance with EU hygiene and food safety laws.

In the EC's opinion, the seriousness of the infringements should have resulted in the FSA taking immediate remedial action to ascertain whether such practices were occurring elsewhere in the U.K. and to ensure that the unlawful practices were discontinued without delay. No such remedial action was effectively carried out by the FSA.

Next steps
The U.K. has five days to respond to the EC's allegations. Failure to provide a fully satisfactory answer would result in the issuing of a reasoned opinion under article 226 of the EU Treaty and, eventually, in the case being brought before the European Court of Justice.

The decision to start the infringement proceedings is accompanied by a safeguard measure banning curd cheese from the non-compliant dairy from being placed on the market, due to the likely health hazards this cheese could pose. The safeguard measure is intended to protect public health until such time as the U.K. complies with its enforcement obligations.

Source: European Commission.