A new regulation affecting produce imports has angered the trade amid allegations of government hypocrisy over cutting red tape.
EC regulation 669/2009, which came in on 25 January, could see produce held up at ports for as much as three days for inspection, severely affecting its quality and ability to be sold.
Companies dealing with produce from the Dominican Republic, Thailand and Turkey, as well as Port Health Authorities, could be seriously affected by the new rules, as it increases the costs for the full CED documentation, checks and sampling for pesticide residues.
The Fresh Produce Consortium has drafted a letter to MPs and distributed it throughout the trade, urging them to battle against the regulation.
In the letter, it said: “This regulation fails to take into account the highly perishable nature of fresh produce and the devastating impact of delays in distribution due to mandatory testing and inspection, with no consumer benefit. I require your urgent action to ensure that a realistic transition period is allowed and implemented whilst further discussions take place to provide a solution for both government and the industry.
“There are stringent standards in place to ensure that the UK consumer can enjoy healthy, good-quality fresh produce, including a rigorous testing and regulatory process for the use of pesticides. It is important for everyone within the fresh produce industry to ensure that they maintain high standards and follow good practice to reassure consumers that every care is taken by growers in the UK and overseas. The presence of a residue does not mean that the product is not safe to eat. Maximum residue levels are not safety limits but are based on good agricultural practice and are usually well below the levels that would be a concern for people’s health.”
Currently the list of produce affected includes bananas, mangoes, yard long beans, melon bitter, Lauki, peppers and aubergines from the Dominican Republic; pears and vegetables like peppers, courgettes and tomatoes from Turkey; and vegetables including yard long beans, aubergines and brassica from Thailand.
The FPC added: “The manner in which this regulation is being applied in the UK by the Food Standards Agency is imposing duplication of pre‐notification of imports, resulting in additional costs to importers and their agents. Delays incurred whilst checks are carried out and results of tests obtained means that highly perishable fresh produce is of a reduced quality, will be no longer fit for sale and may have to be disposed of, with loss of sales and of contracts with retailers.”
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