Originally published @ 10:00 am, Sat 23rd Jan 2010
Having seen a programme on the BBC on Tuesday night, complaining about the poor quality of meat in hot dogs and tinned meat, I was intrigued when a researcher asked me on my walk to catch the bus if I was prepared to take part in a tasting exercise of hot dogs.
And sure enough, I was able to tell a difference in quality of the two offered, in colour, taste, smell and consistency. The inferior one did indeed look like more of it was made from chicken than pork.
However, the TV programme seem to want to berate the use of mechanically recovered meat, when many of us have backgrounds of family life depending on maximising the use of the meat / joints made available to us.
Still I think there are concerns about food not being sufficiently labelled to tell us about the source of the food, the welfare of the animals used, the salt content. Concerns that MEPs like Glenis Willmott are working on.
I think in the medium term that British farmers will benefit from an emphasis on quality and animal welfare, because they will be more easily able to demonstrate compliance.
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Glenis Willmott MEP reports -
Tories play catch–up on labelling
On food, they propose labelling food with guideline daily amounts for the key nutrients - fats, sugars and salts.
Andrew Lansley, their health spokesman, admitted that we cannot legislate for the UK alone and that it needs to be done Europe-wide.
Labour already acting
There is currently draft legislation before the European Parliament to do just that. Glenis is leading on this legislation for the Socialist & Democrat group.
She has already submitted amendments to change this legislation to ensure compulsory labelling of the calorie content of alcohol, and compulsory "traffic light" labelling of all foods, so shoppers can see at a glance the levels of salt, sugar fat and calories of the food they pick up off the shelf.
Tory isolation
On this issue Glenis speaks for 184 Socialist MEPs from 27 different countries - the European Parliament's second largest political group. This contrasts starkly with the Tories and their self-enforced isolation.
Both the Conservative front bench and their marginalised MEPs will have great trouble in pursuing their new policies in the European Parliament, with so few friends and such limited power. https://www.flickr.com/photos/59807596@N00/4305199592/
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