Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-06-05-Speech-4-046"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20030605.2.4-046"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to thank my colleague, Mr Schnellhardt, who has drawn upon his professional background to produce a very technically sound report. Adequate food controls are important in order to guarantee the greatest possible protection of consumers. They ensure the safety, for example, of raw meat, game, molluscs, milk and dairy products. In future, therefore, food producers and processors will have to reveal all the different steps involved in their work. Details will have to be noted about the feedingstuffs used and the state of health of the animals. It will then be possible to trace food and its component parts back to the place of origin, in accordance with the transparent production chain. This is the only way for food authorities to react faster when there is a problem or to detect shortcomings in quality as soon as possible and to remove them. In the Commission’s proposal, it is emphasised that small- and medium-sized enterprises are most affected, and, for them, the new hygiene rules represent a huge burden. The increase in expenditure will, however, result in a significant increase in food safety for the consumer, provided that the demands on businesses are bearable and affordable.
Against this background, the rapporteur and I have jointly tabled some amendments, which take into consideration the flexibility that is essential for artisanal small businesses without, however, reducing the hygiene requirements. I think it is important that these artisanal small businesses should be recognised in the definition of the Regulation. We do have large slaughterhouses in Europe, but we also have a host of small butcher’s shops. That is why there has to be some flexibility to adapt official controls to the size of the business. Inspecting a large slaughterhouse, in which thousands of animals are slaughtered and processed on a daily basis, is in nature and intensity different to inspecting an artisanal small business, in which fewer animals are processed. There also has to be flexibility with regard to the frequency of controls on smaller businesses. We need a rule stipulating when a business is to be inspected and by whom. An inspection plan from the competent authorities, which has been preceded by a risk analysis, should be sufficient. Health-based requirements should only be involved if they are actually relevant for people’s health.
What I expect from this Regulation is greater individual responsibility for producers and processors. European consumers will benefit directly from this. However, I am also very concerned that we, as legislators, should give consideration to the traditional small-business structure in Europe, in order to guarantee that both the production and supply of food is sustainable, adequate and safe, even in the less-populated areas of Europe."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples