UNISON, Britain’s biggest union warned today that a vote in the
European Parliament tomorrow (31 March) could raise fears for
the future safety of UK meat. The vote could lead to the vital work
of independent UK government meat inspectors privatised leading
to a lack of consumer confidence.
The European Commission and Council of Ministers will try to
force through the privatisation of inspection in red meat abattoirs
despite this having been rejected by MEPs at First Reading last
May. The UK government and the Food Standards Agency have
been the strongest supporters of privatisation among all the other
European member states.
Commenting on the proposals, UNISON National Officer Ben
Priestley said:
” Privatising meat inspection will be a disaster for public health and
confidence in the meat industry in the UK. Big business interests
are being put before the health and safety of UK consumers. The
UK meat industry will also suffer, as it will not be able to compete
in the new global meat economy that privatisation will usher in. We
are calling on MEPs to vote against these dangerous proposals.”
UNISON, whose meat inspector members work in every abattoir in
the UK, have campaigned against this dangerous deregulation for
the last three years. The union are opposed to the proposals
because:
* The UK meat industry has not shown itself capable of self-
regulation, as recent poultry meat scandals have shown
* The privatisation of red meat inspection in the USA has failed
and led recently to the government having to recall 18 million lbs
of minced beef, contaminated with e-Coli 0157
* Company meat inspectors will not be required to have the same
high level of training and professional qualifications as
independent meat inspectors
* Small and medium size abattoirs will not be able to survive in a
deregulated environment – privatisation will allow countries like the
USA to export its privately inspected meat into the European
Community and undercut local prices.