BSE spoiled the party for the French government in Paris this week. As another cynical example of Gallic disregard for EU rules kept British beef in locked cabinets at SIAL, Mad Cow Disease became an embarrassing domestic headache, casting an ominous shadow over the world's brightest food fair. So it was hard for visiting Brits to disguise smug grins when Jean Glavany, France's minister for arrogance (who also holds the agriculture portfolio) was helicoptered in, only to be ambushed by a regiment of his own media eager to hear his reaction to the BSE problems on his own doorstep. Mad cows apart, SIAL was better than ever. It seemed hundreds more of the world's most proactive food folk had chosen the city (dubbed by one gushing Parisian PR person as the "capital of the civilised world") to launch their bids to spark up global grocery inventories. And Britain was in there with the best of them. Thankfully, the export arm of UK plc has matured from the days when our pavilions were adorned with cut-outs of Beefeaters, London red buses and Hooray Henrys in bowler hats. For, as unprecedented competition transforms trading, exporting is a sport reserved only for the canniest players and hollow exhibition gimmicks are being consigned to marketing department wastebins. All the pity, therefore, that trading with mainland Europe is still made difficult by currency problems, a point which has brought little more than sympathy from the government. Successive MAFF ministers have toured SIAL and Anuga in recent years, patted a few heads, made a note of suitable candidates for the odd OBE, and then flown home with the parting comment that "exchange rates are a matter for the Bank of England, not us". So, given there's no real sign of an end to those monetary issues, it says a lot for the skills of the suppliers that they can put on such a professional effort. Even this cynical hack felt proud to be a Brit this week ­ and that wasn't always the case at SIAL. Clive Beddall, Editor {{OPINION }}

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