In the second of a three-part series, Business This Week looks atthe line between protecting consumers from poor quality produce and lack of hygiene, and avoiding over-regulation that forces small producers to close

"We have no agenda to put the small people out of business. The Food Safety Authority is there to protect consumers," says Dr Patrick Wall, chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).

"We want to ensure all the food on sale in Ireland is safe. But we can see this happening at the moment - a lot of small people are being discouraged from getting into the business and, if they don't get some support, the whole food chain will be dominated by large multinationals with global distribution," he admits.

The man to whom the 2,400 food inspectors at work in the State report is in a quandary. He has to enforce the law, but believes passionately that diversity must be maintained - so much so that he has written to EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Mr David Byrne expressing his concerns about the current situation.

"We have the very best of raw ingredients. Small people win awards. They have put Irish food up in lights. Some of our commodity foods trade on small producers. It's like the haute couture of the fashion industry - the high street shops trade on it," Dr Wall says.

"Food in Ireland is not dangerous," he declares. "We're talking about simple controls to prevent food-borne illnesses, and the regulations should facilitate - rather than using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."

The total number of premises producing food for human consumption in the State is 37,550. Last year, 51 were closed down by the FSAI; so far this year, five closure orders have been served on food businesses. A closure order is served only when there is likely to be a grave or immediate danger to public health because of the condition of the premises or the activities carried on there.

The FSAI issued 13 prohibition orders, which applied to specific items of food but not the whole premises, and 12 improvement orders.

"People should be able to sell a few eggs," Dr Wall says. "I think we should have an infrastructure in place that facilitates small producers. There are basic rules which should be adhered to, and we can go forward. We can't take the joy out of eating. If standards are met, everybody should be able to trade, but some of them are not kosher," he says.

Nobody knows how many small artisanal food producers are out there, and they are not organised. But from all sides of the food industry, there is concern that current EU food laws are threatening their existence.

There can, however, be no room for complacency about food safety, and Dr Wall makes no concessions on this.

For example, there were 448 reported cases of salmonellosis in 2001 and 1,244 cases of food poisoning from other bacteria. But these are relatively mild in the context of food scares experienced in the EU in recent years. E.coli 157 is a new threat and he says there have been some disastrous food scares.

"BSE is like a horror story, a man-made horror story," Dr Wall says.

"If you wanted to set about undermining public confidence, you couldn't have thought of a better way. The final chapter of the BSE story is not written; we don't know how many people are incubating it and we could be facing a public health scandal that may be out of control."

The EU wants a pan-European standard, he says, which means everybody has to comply with the same regulations. And he accepts that in many cases this only suits companies with economies of scale.

He points out that many people, including small producers, are achieving standards in excess of the legal requirements, often driven by the demands of the retailers, especially supermarket chains, whom they supply.

"The regulations are pass Leaving Cert and some are on the honours paper. Unless people comply with the regulations, they cannot be allowed to operate. The consequences are that some small producers can't survive on the pitch," he says.

He accepts that the regulations as currently drafted are not facilitating them to thrive.

"We're not talking about shoddy practices. The regulations they have to comply with should be proportionate to the risk. For some producers, the investment can threaten their viability."

Mrs Myrtle Allen is proprietor of Ballymaloe House, one of the trail-blazing restaurants for traditional, natural Irish food and a founder member of Euro-Toques, the European Community of Cooks. She could not agree more with Dr Wall.

"I am trying to keep the quality of food I am noted for on my tables for my customers. If I can't have it, I am pretty well legally thrown onto the mercy of the industrial producers.

"If I have a friend up the road running a few chickens out on the grass and looking after them carefully, in my opinion they are far, far better - and she's not allowed to sell her chickens to me. She can bring them to the market and sell at the farm gate to a customer, but I couldn't resell," Mrs Allen explains.

Some of these people get through the inspection procedure now required, but others find it too frightening and cease production.

"They are all very important and useful to me - the chickens, eggs, the little butchers. There was a wonderful person doing very good quality ducks around Killarney/Kenmare. She's out of business; they were asking for a financial commitment that the little business can't carry."

So where does she get her ducks now? "Ask no questions, you'll be told no lies. We source it everywhere we can."

She believes the people who make the laws do not realise the damage they are doing, failing to see the other side of the question.

"I think they should review the laws. Euro-Toques have been fighting for small butchers for seven or eight years.

We have recently asked them [the Commission\] not to saddle any small industry, and particularly the butchers, with a financial outlay their business is not able to pay for."

Mrs Allen says representation for artisanal producers on committees framing legislation is vital, but accepts the fact that they are not organised makes it difficult. And financial support to upgrade facilities, as Dr Wall also mentioned, is required.

A number of people are now asking whether some funding can be made available to small food producers under the the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Reforms of the CAP under Agenda 2000 comprise measures for, among other things, the creation of substitute jobs and other sources of income for farmers; the formation of new policy for rural development, which becomes the second pillar of the CAP; and the improvement of food quality and safety.