WRITTEN QUESTION E-0494/01 by Jeffrey Titford (EDD) to the Commission. Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point.
Date: 2001-02-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: consumer protection, food inspection, food safety, foodstuffs legislation

13.11.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 318 E/65

(2001/C 318 E/066)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0493/01

by Hanja Maij-Weggen (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(22 February 2001)

Subject: Supplementary question concerning the illegal processing and selling of cat and dog fur

Further to my Question E-3525/00 (1) on the same subject: Is the Commission aware that inspectors from
the Humane Society, the biggest organisation for the protection of animals in the US, made a discovery of
cat furskin, bearing a different label, during an inspection in Nantes, France in March 2000, and that
a German importer reportedly told the inspectors that an estimated half a million cat furs are exported
annually from Asia to Germany in order to be processed into furskin under a different name?

Is the Commission prepared to contact the Humane Society in the US in order to obtain further
information, and is it prepared,
if this information is confirmed, to submit a proposal for a directive
providing for a ban on the importing, processing and selling of furs from cats and dogs?

(1) OJ C 163 E, 6.6.2001, p. 152.

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(1 June 2001)

The Commission would like to refer the Honourable Member to its answers to Written Question
E-3981/00 from Mr Stevenson (1) and P-0359/01 from Mrs McNally (2).

The Commission is not aware of the specific findings mentioned by the Honourable Member.

Should the Commission receive relevant information from the Humane Society, it would carefully take
note of it and consider it in its further course of action.

(1) OJ C 163 E, 6.6.2001, p. 232.
(2) OJ C 187 E, 3.7.2001, p. 220.

(2001/C 318 E/067)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0494/01

by Jeffrey Titford (EDD) to the Commission

(22 February 2001)

Subject: Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point

I have received many representations from those involved in food preparation,
industry,
restaurants, cafes, etc., about the consequences of the European Commission adopting (cid:145)Hazard Analysis
Critical Control Point(cid:146).

the meat

The case against HACCP is that it is a system which was devised in the United States of America to
produce sterile foods for the space programme and is likely to lead to a reduction in food safety rather
than an improvement.

Have the officials in the European Commission involved in this matter read the analysis by the UK
Independence Party(cid:146)s Research Director, Dr Richard North, entitled (cid:145)Food Safety and the European Union(cid:146)?
If so, what is the Commission(cid:146)s response to the many arguments advanced in that publication against the
introduction of HACCP.

I have received representations from members of the Association of Meat Inspectors who inform me that
HACCP is totally unsuitable for controlling food safety in abattoirs, simply cannot be applied to that
environment and will lead to a reduction in food safety.

C 318 E/66

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

Why is the European Union, together with civil servants in the United Kingdom, proposing to remove the
function of meat inspection from the Government and place it under regulation by the private sector,
a policy that seems incomprehensible given the fact that, in 1995, during the early stages of the BSE crisis
in Britain, over 46 % of the (private sector) industry failed to implement the risk material controls specified
by the Government at the time. ACCH

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(22 May 2001)

In the context of this reply, it is not possible to react to all the comments made in the analysis ((cid:145)Food
safety and the European Union(cid:146)) referred to by the Honourable Member. In general, the analysis does not
object to the Hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) system per se, but rather to its compulsory
implementation, as it is one specific system, and as there is not necessarily a relationship between food
safety and the operation of HACCP.

The HACCP approach is generally recognised throughout the world as the most appropriate to guarantee
food safety. Codex Alimentarius, the leading scientific body in this field, and the relevant European
scientific committees, endorse this view. The Commission therefore believes that introduction of the
HACCP approach will improve food safety in Europe.

Codex Alimentarius says that HACCP can be applied in businesses of all sizes. Codex Alimentarius pays
special attention to the implementation of HACCP in small businesses, by developing specific strategies.
The Commission proposal (1) also provides for the facilitation of HACCP in small businesses. In this
context, it is important to note that expert opinion has largely accepted generic approaches to HACCP as
a tool for small and less developed businesses.

It must also be emphasised that HACCP is not a new element in Community legislation: Council Directive
93/43/EEC of 14 June 1993 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (2) already imposed the implementation of
HACCP principles in food businesses, and a number of product specific Directives did the same.

As far as the comments on the implementation of HACCP in slaughterhouses are concerned, reference
should be made to the opinion of the Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures relating to Public
Health, of 24 February 2000, on the revision of meat
the key
recommendations of the report is that (cid:145)introduction of HACCP in the slaughter plant should become
mandatory(cid:146). This opinion of the Scientific Committee is in line with the relevant guidelines of Codex
Alimentarius and, more generally, with developments taking place in the major meat exporting countries
outside Europe. This opinion is available on the Internet (3).

inspection procedures. One of

In its White Paper on food safety (4), the Commission announced that it would develop a proposal for the
revision of the current meat inspection system. The main reason for this was that the current system does
not address the main hazards in meat that are of greatest importance today, and in particular those with
regard to the contamination of meat with harmful micro-organisms such as salmonella. The aim of the
Commission is to improve meat safety, by making meat inspection risk-based, by introducing the stable-to-
table approach and by clearly defining the responsibilities of the meat operator and the official inspector.
The Commission is currently working on the development of this proposal together with experts and
representatives of the Member States. No decisions have yet been taken concerning the precise structure of
the future meat inspection system.

This revision of the meat inspection system will however not imply the withdrawal of the competent
authority from slaughter plants. The competent authority will continue to play its role in ensuring that
food law is adhered to.

(1) OJ C 365 E, 19.12.2000.
(2) OJ L 175, 19.7.1993.
(3) http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scv/outcome_en.html#opinions.
(4) COM(1999) 719 final.