A Taste of Wellness for Savoury and Snacks
Givaudan
French farm minister Jean Glavany gave another hint on Wednesday that Paris would not rush to remove its ban on British beef over mad cow fears despite a European Union court decision that its embargo was illegal.
Speaking at a meeting of EU farm ministers in Brussels, Glavany repeated comments made last week after the European Court of Justice ruling. He said consumer protection would remain his guiding principle in deciding how to respond.
He said he had not discussed the matter with his British counterpart Margaret Beckett, but repeated criticism of Britain for not routinely testing cattle aged over 30 months for mad cow disease, and not providing full data on current BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) numbers in the national herd.
He referred to a recent EU report which concluded that a lack of testing meant the incidence of the disease in Britain had to be seen "with a considerable degree of uncertainty".
Glavany said the report "was not a spectacular encouragement" for Paris to end its ban.
Britain argues that it does not have to test cattle that are more than 30 months old because of national measures banning all such animals from the food chain.
All other EU countries allow meat from older cattle into the food chain but only if the animals are first tested for BSE.
The European Commission eased its 3-1/2 year ban on British beef exports in the summer of 1999, but France refused to comply with the measure and was subsequently taken to court.