THE President of the European Commission, Mr Jacques Santer, said during a visit to Ireland yesterday that the Commission would issue a policy document next week on an improved approach to inspection and control of animals and food products.
This was a rapid response to the recommendations by the European Parliament's BSE Committee of Inquiry, he said at a ceremony in Grange, Co Meath, to mark the leasing of land for the Office for the Control and Audit of the Quality of Products.
The Commission was also reorganising the work of scientific committees and would apply three main principles excellence, independence and transparency.
"The problems experienced because of the BSE crisis clearly damaged the confidence the European consumer feels in the safety of his food. The Commission has and will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure consumer confidence," said Mr Santer.
"The work of the Office for the Control and Audit of the Quality in Products is a key element of ensuring the public's confidence."
The ceremony marking the start of construction work on the office was also attended by the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton. It came three years after the European Council decided the Office of Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection and Control, as it was formerly known, would be based in Ireland.
Mr Santer said the office was of paramount importance and she BSE affair had "underlined the necessity for stringent inspection and control measures".
The office's staff had responsibilities for inspections not just in the member-states, but also in third countries, where they had responsibility for maintaining and updating lists of approved food processing establishments.
They ensured the relevant Community legislation was implemented, through on the-spot inspections, checks and controls.
However, only 14 of the 60 main areas of responsibility could be considered as fully covered, resulting in the proposal for increased staff, he said.
"It is essential that the whole of the food, animal and plant production chain receive a co-ordinated inspection and control effort. This will help the identification of health risks and any failings in the implementation of Community legislation," Mr Santer said.
Meanwhile, Mr Santer has been asked by the Irish Farmers' Association to initiate an urgent review of the Commission's management of the beef export refund system to secure changes vital to Irish beef interests.
In a letter handed to Mr Santer yesterday, the IFA said it was unacceptable that farmers who bought cattle last autumn now found them worth £150 a head less. Cuts in the export refund system, it added, had reduced cattle prices by 20 per cent since December 1996 and the operation of the cuts was more damaging for the Irish beef sector than for any other country in the EU.
The IFA has organised a meeting of beef farmers tonight in the Red Cow Hotel, Naas Road, Dublin, which is to be attended by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Yates, and the Fianna Fail spokesman on agriculture, Mr Joe Walsh.