Opinion

The meat industry s nightmares continue. By raising the BSE and lamb issue this week Brussels has once again shown its ability to turn ineptitude into an art form. The massive public relations fiasco exploded across a shell-shocked industry and led to ministers, farmers, scientists and sellers attempting to restore sanity and head off another consumer stampede away from the meat cabinets. This time it was EU farm commissioner, Franz Fischler, who caused the wrath. After revealing that new research from France appeared to establish a link between BSE and sheep, he told the world ­ and an ever hungry media ­ that he was proposing sweeping measures to keep sheep (and goat and deer) brains, spinal cords and spleen out of the food chain. This had shades of the now world-famous statement by Health Minister Stephen Dorrell when he announced earlier this year possible links between mad cow disease and its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. And we all know what happened after that... However, 24 hours and umpteen screaming banner headlines later, the frightening Franz was back in front of the cameras to emphasise that there was no risk of catching BSE from sheep, and in any case, the supposed link had actually been established under contrived laboratory conditions! Even the hapless food minister Douglas Hogg, who many believed after the BSE and beef issue should have been chopped in John Major s mini-reshuffle, quickly stood up in Brussels to reassure shoppers that lamb throughout Europe was wholly safe . Thus an already hard-pressed trade, despite reminding shoppers that the offal is rarely used in the UK food chain, is again holding its breath as store checks to measure consumer response across the land are stepped up. Early reports suggest that the effects of this week s events will not result in a new, industry damaging mad sheep crisis with droves of consumers turning away from the product. But will Brussels ever learn?