Sir, Your editorial, Food for Thought" (June 19th), referred to Mr Ahern's commitment to establish an independent food quality board to "guarantee the safety and quality of food". It would also have responsibility for "approval of drugs and chemicals for use in food production". Very interesting indeed.
Now where does that leave us in relation to the EU single market and mutual recognition of standards as well as freedom of movement of goods, etc.? It's a little like a local authority in Ireland declaring that it would decide such issues in the context of the Irish market in future - i.e. it's a nonsense.
You go on to say that Mr Santer, President of the Commission, signalled his intention to remove the food quality issues from the agriculture directorate, whatever good that will do, apart from the perception of being the correct move. It's like re-arranging the deck chairs while the captain steers course, irrespective of the consequences, on the basis of which group of passengers shout loudest.
Commissioner Fischler was much nearer to the solution when he said (Financial Times. December 17th, 1996): "we need an independent body that has a high profile and is accepted by public opinion. It needs to be independent of any interest groups.
The fundamental problem in the EU is that political and commercial considerations, as opposed to scientific recommendations, have too much influence in decision-making. This has resulted in the Thalidomide tragedy of the 1960s and the BSE and Angel Dust problems of the 1980s and 1990s, to mention but a few. Where consumer safety is concerned there should be no deviation from the most up-to-date scientific information available, irrespective of the political or commercial consequences.
The US was spared such tragedies and mistakes, thanks to the FDA, an autonomous body, whose findings cannot be over-ruled by the politicians. Based on its record, the FDA enjoys the confidence of the vast majority of consumers in the US.
The EU urgently needs an FDA type of body to protect, not only the consumers, but also industry, which is increasingly coming under attack from all sorts of self-appointed "experts", and to shield politicians from pressures, political and financial, which can encourage them to make decisions which they would not otherwise make. - Yours, etc.,
Professor of Agriculture, University College, Cork.