Being economical with the truth -- and other things

[Ciss]

Here we go again...
On Radio 4's Farming Today this morning David Heath (defra minister) claimed that he shut down NED because it was not fit for purpose as a food dafety check. No, they shut it down BEFORE the horsemeat scandle as part of a quango centred cost reducing exercise which the industry warned would have a huge negative effect on traceability which it immediately did when criminal elements realised how easy food fraud had become. With the EU now demanding a compulsory equine database as part of the revised zootechnics législation some fast back pedalling / eating of words will have to take place over the next few months.

 

[Tammytoo]

As long as there were "exceptions" to having horses passported i.e. wild ponies, no amount of databasing would have prevented the horsemeat scandal. The fact that bute traces were found in some cases shows that passports were either ignored, forged,exceptions or just plain unscrupulous sources here or abroad. The wild ponies dumped on Bodmin were untraceable as would any meat be from any wild ponies.

 

[1stclassalan]

The plain facts are - you can have as many agencies and nosepokers as you like in any field - but you will always get scandals because people need to get off their butts and DO SOMETHING but being human, they don't.

That explosion in Texas the other day - EXACTLY the same as other explosions at similar plants in the passed - I expect we shall shortly hear of regulations flouted and bad practises maintained - all as an afterthought.

Food scares are just the same - there are plenty of laws to keep every body in line - but if no on bothers to check - no one will ever find out.

The only thing in favour of better food standards is, I think, the tests are getting cheaper and easier to do.

 

[JillA]

Same with all legislation - if you don't enforce it you encourage people to ignore the law in general. Look at the law regarding the use of mobile phones whilst driving as a prime example.
I could never be a politician - I can't dissemble and ignore the basis of a question asked in the way that they do. Economical with the truth or just plain old fashioned dishonesty?