Minutes of meeting held on 1 December 2005

Minutes of Foodaware meetings

CFG 36/05

Foodaware: the Consumers’ Food Group

Minutes of the eighteenth meeting – held on 1 December 2005 at the Office of the European Parliament, Queen Anne’s Gate, London, SW1

Members present
Welcome and apologies for absence
Matters arising from last meeting:
   a) Organisations issues
   b) FSA signpost labelling consultation
   c) Pesticides Forum
   d) FSA regional food hygiene campaign events
UK Co-ordinator’s report and EU Update
Guidance on allergen control and consumer information: Draft paper for discussion and agreement
  (CFG 32/05)
Food hygiene regulations: Draft letter for discussion and agreement (CFG 33/05)
Avian Influenza:
   a) Briefing from Graham Lewis, Deputy Head, Exotic Disease Prevention and Control Division, Defra
   b) Discussion of Foodaware draft paper (CFG 34/05)
Defra Consumer Engagement Project – Ann Davison
School meals standards, Department for Education and Skills consultation: draft paper for discussion
  (CFG 35/05)
Any other business and date of next meeting

PRESENT

Members:

Paul Allen - European Food Law Association UK
Judy Brander - National Council of Women of GB
Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmott - Age Concern Scotland
Ann Davison - Consumer Engagement Project, Defra
Margaret Foss - National Federation of Women’s Institutes
John Godfrey - ERICA, FSA Consumer Committee
Catherine Humphries - Co-operative Group UK
Dr A Majid Katme - Muslim Council of Britain
Susan Knox - Chairperson
Graham Lewis - Exotic Disease Prevention and Control, Defra
Penny McNeill - General Consumer Council for NI
Helen Millar - National Consumer Federation
Jill Moss - The Bella Moss Foundation
Sue Payne - National Consumer Federation
Jacquie Salfield - Institute of Consumer Sciences
Christine Sanderson Fagan - Soroptimist International UK
Barbara Saunders - Independent Enquiry into failures in BSE Testing
Shree Om Parkash Sharma - National Council of Hindu Temples
David Smith - Welsh Food Alliance
John Verrall - Veterinary Products Committee

Foodaware:

Lucy Harris - UK Co-ordinator
Jane Jeffreys - Foodaware, Administrative support
Chris Andrew - ERICA

Apologies:

Dozie Azubike - ACAF
Jaswinder Bangar - FSA, Consumer Branch
Erica Bargman - European Union of Women
Gilli Cliff - Livestock Register Governance Group
Dorothy Craig - Veterinary Residues Committee
Sheila Graham - Veterinary Products Committee
Mike Jobson - ex Trading Standards Institute
Harriet Kimbell - SEAC
Tom MacMillan - Food Ethics Council
Charlotte Meller - LACORS
Micah McGuire - FSA, Consumer Branch
Mike O’Neill - National Consumer Council
Sylvia Owen - National Council of Women
Dilwen Phillips - Advisory Committee for Wales
David Pickering - Trading Standards Institute
Jillian Pitt - National Consumer Council
Pamela Pollock - Townswomen’s Guilds
Michelle Smyth - Which?
Stella Walsh - Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition
Katy Waters - National Childbirth Trust
Grace Wedekind - International Council of Women
Alma Williams - Committee on Toxicity and EESC
Anne Wilson - Meat Hygiene Advisory Committee

FOODAWARE MEETING

The meeting started with a minutes’ silence in recognition of those affected by the 7th July bomb attacks in London.

1. Welcome and apologies

The Chair welcomed everyone, especially Chris Andrew, who is responsible for much of the behind the scenes work at Foodaware including the website, the list-serve and the EU update.

It was noted that a number of apologies had been received and these would be included in the minutes.

2. Minutes of the last meeting (CFG 10/05)

It was noted that apologies from David Smith, Welsh Food Alliance, and Catherine Humphries, Co-op, should have been included in the minutes of the last meeting. There were no other amendments and, subject to these additions, the minutes were agreed as a true record of the meeting.

3.   Matters arising

a)   Organisations issues

The Chair explained that elections for the two Vice-chair positions were due in February 2006. A letter asking for nominations would be sent to members at the beginning of February.

b)   FSA signpost labelling consultation

The Chair explained that FSA had recently published a consultation on the new labelling scheme following substantial consumer research into various options. The consultation consists of several large documents and help, from any volunteers, towards putting together a draft Foodaware response would be very much appreciated. Jacquie Salfield offered to help. The draft response will be circulated on the list-serve for members’ comments in January. The final deadline for submissions is 8 February 2006. FSA planned to present the results of this research and consultation to its Board in the first part of 2006 with a view to launching the scheme later during 2006.

In discussion, members raised the following points:

The traffic light labelling scheme was well researched and should be welcomed;
It is a UK/voluntary initiative, not EU;
It is important for all retailers to take it on for it to be effective;
Concern that the scheme is not supported within industry especially those involved in the international market. Most retailers favour the CGDA model;
There might be an opportunity for the EU nutrition labelling directive to be amended during the review of the general labelling directive in 2007;
To continue to lobby for improvements to vegetarian food labelling.

Action: JS to look at consultation papers and draft response for circulation in January.

c) Pesticides Forum

The Chair reminded members that two reports from Jacqui Salfield (Foodaware representative on the Pesticides Forum) had recently been circulated on the list-serve. These noted that the Forum was mainly concerned about environmental issues rather than the knock-on effect on food safety. Might it be worthwhile sending a letter to the Pesticides Forum asking them to be more pro-active in this regard?

Members agreed, pointing out that food, health and environmental issues were interlinked and that FSA’s policy was for pesticide residues in food to be brought to the lowest possible level. A question was raised about whether pesticide standards for crops grown for energy production were lower than for food crops? JS said she would raise this at the Pesticides Forum.

Action: Letter to be sent to the Pesticides Forum secretariat.

d) FSA regional food hygiene campaign events

Margaret Foss reported on the FSA regional food hygiene campaign event she had attended on the previous day in Newcastle. She said that FSA had outlined their strategy for raising food hygiene awareness in the home and community. There were many strands to this but much emphasis was being placed on teaching food hygiene in schools as part of the national curriculum. It also focused on reaching people who spoke little or no English.

Members were concerned that many parents today knew little about food hygiene and preparation. They also felt that children should be the focus of attention. Children could then share the information they learned with their parents. The Muslim community has been organising meetings on the need to alert people to the risks associated with food hygiene and some progress was being made. Shops, where the handling of food and money was not separated, should be targeted. Also on hygiene matters, it was noted that the official figure of 5,000 for MRSA cases was likely to be an underestimate and members thought updated figures would show it to be substantially higher.

Action: It was agreed that some of these points were relevant to the school meals paper and should be included in it.

4. UK Co-ordinator’s report and EU Update

UK Co-ordinator’s report

LH said that there had been a great deal of activity since the last meeting with 13 responses to consultation documents. These had mainly been in the form of letters, rather than long papers, since it was understood this was more helpful to FSA. The report also covered a longer period than usual (August – December). She noted that members had shown much interest in the draft paper (CFG 28/05) on the VMD consultation on the draft report by the Veterinary Products Committee on the risks associated with the use of hormonal substances in food-producing animals. At the meeting they called for public access to the responses to the VMD consultation. Members were also anxious that Foodaware papers were distributed to all relevant government departments, including regional structures, and circulated to appropriate personnel within these. A request was made to ensure that all consultation responses should state clearly whether they referred to UK-wide proposals or to England only. It was agreed that there should be a longer discussion of consumer engagement issues at the next members’ meeting.

Action: Steering Committee to follow-up suggestions for papers, their distribution and taking forward concerns about consumer engagement.

EU Update

It was noted that common position texts had been reached on the proposals for nutrition and health claims made on food and for the addition of vitamins and minerals and certain other substances to food. These were due to be adopted at the Health Council on 9 December. They would then be presented to the European Parliament for second reading in the New Year under the Austrian Presidency. It was agreed that Foodaware should lobby British MEPs if resources permitted.

It was also noted that the hygiene regulations were due to come into force on 1 January 2006. However, there were five-year exemptions on many major aspects of the new controls with final implementation in 2010. Members expressed concern about this and BS agreed to look into it and assess whether any action might be worthwhile.

Action: Follow- up on health claims, food fortification and hygiene regulations where feasible.

5. Guidance on allergen control and consumer information
Draft paper for discussion and agreement (CFG 32/05)

Barbara Saunders introduced the draft Foodaware paper (CFG 32/05) which built on Foodaware’s previous food allergens paper (CFG 07/05 rev). It was being prepared in response to the FSA consultation on its draft guidance on allergen control and consumer information. She explained that the guidance would cover, on a voluntary basis, the labelling of foods pre-packed for direct sale, those sold loose, and the issue of cross-contamination. It would compliment the new legislation for the labelling of allergens in pre-packed foods that came into effect in November 2005. It was important because it would cover a lot of food currently exempt from the legislation. The draft paper focused on the specific questions asked in the FSA consultation.

In discussion, members made a number of specific suggestions on the detail of the paper. A point was also raised about the role of the public sector in driving change, for example, by setting high standards in the catering sector for information about allergens. Members expressed their general concern that more needed to be done about the wider public health issues raised by the rising numbers of people experiencing allergic reactions to foods. Subject to the suggested amendments the paper was agreed.

Action: BS to amend paper and send to FSA by 6 December deadline. Wider public health issues to be raised at next meeting with Jon Bell.

6. Food hygiene regulations
Draft letter for discussion and agreement (CFG 33/05)

Barbara Saunders introduced this draft Foodaware letter (CFG 33/05). It responded to the FSA consultation concerning new food hygiene regulations implementing the recently harmonized EU Food Hygiene Regulations into English law. A similar process was taking place in the regions. The new EU regulations brought together all the individual EU instruments into one document and this was welcome. Likewise, Foodaware supported the introduction of a risk-based system built on HACCP principles. She explained that she had kept the comments very specific given there was little room to manoeuvre at this stage.

The draft letter highlighted concerns about the enforcement arrangements, which remained vague. It called for FSA to develop a robust system for inspection together with a comprehensive enforcement plan. This should indicate precisely where responsibility lay and the appropriate level of enforcement activity. It also called for an ongoing programme of education and information to supplement the legislative changes, especially for small and medium sized businesses.

Members generally supported the letter but were concerned about the delay, until 2010, for implementation of several of the major provisions. Concern was also raised about the urgent need for HACCP training and for additional resources to be made available for this, for example, in Wales. Subject to these amendments the letter was agreed.

Action: BS to amend letter and send to FSA by 13 December deadline.

7. Avian Influenza

a) Briefing from Graham Lewis, Deputy Head, Exotic Disease Prevention and Control Division, Defra

The Chair introduced Graham Lewis and thanked him for coming to brief Foodaware on developments concerning Avian Influenza.

Graham Lewis explained that Avian Influenza was a contagious viral infection caused by influenza type “A”. It affected food producing birds, pet and wild birds. There were two types:

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) - caused severe disease in poultry with many deaths;
Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) - caused mild to moderate disease.

There was concern because LPAI of subtypes H5 and H7 can mutate to HPAI. Current concerns have focussed on the subtype H5N1 emerging in SE Asia where 130 people so far had caught it as a result of very close contact with poultry. Of these, 67 had died. The main danger was that it could mutate in the future and change from being primarily a bird disease to a type of flu that could be transmitted from person to person.

While globally there was a high risk that it would spread further, the risk in the UK of the imminent introduction of H5N1 was still low. Possible pathways included migratory birds, legal and illegal trade, bird fairs and shows.

So far the Government had banned the import of birds; put restrictions on bird fairs, shows and gatherings; increased wild bird surveillance; distributed biosecurity guidance leaflets and posters etc; set up a poultry register; established a review of avian quarantine arrangements; and developed comprehensive contingency plans. The main policy would be to locate the outbreak, contain movements and slaughter affected flocks.

At present EU law only permits vaccination of birds in zoos. It was considered unsuitable as main means of control since birds would have to be injected individually, immunity takes 2-3 weeks to develop, it does not stop birds becoming infected and spreading the virus, and it can mask signs of the disease making detection and eradication difficult. However, Graham Lewis stressed that Defra was awaiting developments and was not against vaccination per se.

In responses to questions, he said that a human ‘flu pandemic might develop as a mutation from bird ‘flu although a pandemic could equally emerge through another route. Human supplies of vaccine for H5N1 were being developed by the Department of Health. Confusion amongst the media and public had emerged partly as a result of publicity concerning the regular seasonal flu vaccine which was developed and distributed each year. However, this had nothing to do with avian influenza other that it might be offered to poultry workers. If so, it would not protect them against avian flu but lower the risk of these workers getting seasonal flu which could, potentially, mix with avian flu causing gene interchange leading to a form which could be passed from human to human.

FSA advice to consumers was that there was no risk from consuming meat and eggs as long as they were cooked properly. Likewise, meat processors must treat all meat in the appropriate way according to good practice.

Members raised a concern that attention and funds should not be diverted away from other important zoonoses such as campylobacter and E.coli as a result of the focus on this emerging disease.

The Chair thanked Graham Lewis for his clear, and very useful, overview. He thanked Foodaware for inviting him and reminded members that the Defra website (www.defra.gov.uk) was regularly updated with the latest information on this subject.

b) Discussion of Foodaware draft paper (CFG 34/05)

Barbara Saunders introduced the draft Foodaware paper (CFG 34/05) on Avian Flu and other issues. She said it represented a first attempt to pull out the consumer issues in this important public health concern. The paper highlighted some key facts about the disease and the regulatory framework for controlling it as a basis for discussing the consumer issues. It also contained a number of outstanding questions, for example, on vaccination of poultry and the extent to which the Department of Health/NHS was prepared for a human pandemic. She mentioned that Defra, FSA, the Department of Health and the World Health Organisation all had up-to-date websites for further information.

A short discussion of the paper took place. Members stressed the importance of the public being given clear, factual information about the risks that avian flu posed. Some members were concerned about media hype confusing the issue although others felt that greater public awareness was helpful. Ongoing investment into research and vaccine production was vital.

Action: It was agreed that the paper would be revised and re-circulated for comment after the Christmas break.

8. Defra Consumer Engagement Project – Ann Davison

The Chair invited Ann Davison to give an update on the Defra Consumer Engagement Project within the Animal Health and Welfare Division. Ann said this was progressing well and they were developing a clear strategy for consulting consumers. It would include using focus groups, opinion polls, and specific consultations with membership groups such as Foodaware and consumer advocacy organisations such as NCC and Which?

There was a need for more appreciation of what consumer organisations have to offer among civil servants and one way of doing this was for consumer groups to highlight papers actively backed by members. Foodaware’s role in nominating suitable representatives for committees was also important.

Defra would be putting minutes of meetings on its website in future. It was shifting towards producing simpler documents, for example, providing cover sheets to accompany key consultations and to back these up with strategic consultation meetings. It would be helpful for consumers to give feedback to Defra on its publications and consultations as well as on how to prioritise between the various zoonotic diseases (TB, BSE, FMD, Avian Flu, Salmonella, Campylobacter etc).

Forthcoming consultations of interest were regarding the scientific evidence base used by Defra and the England implementation group on the animal health and welfare strategy.

The meetings with the Chief Veterinary Officer, Debby Reynolds, would continue and the next one was scheduled for 6 January.

In response to a question, Ann confirmed that most of this work focused on developing best practice for consumer engagement in England. However, this could then be fed into what was taking place in the devolved administrations.

9. School meals standards, Department for Education and Skills consultation - draft paper for discussion (CFG 35/05)

Lucy introduced this item, explaining that the government had set up the School Meals Review Panel in May 2005. The Secretary of State for Education and Skills had commissioned it to recommend tougher nutritional standards for school lunches. The Panel was an independent group, chaired by Suzi Leather, and consisted of people from different professions and backgrounds, including head-teachers, governors, school caterers, parents and the food industry etc.

The Panel had done a very comprehensive job and come up with no less than 35 recommendations. These reflected the fact that, in addition to looking at school meals, it had considered the broader context such as the implications of food-related teaching, how much physical activity takes place in schools, food purchased outside the school at lunchtime or prepared at home and brought in.

Lucy pointed out that the draft Foodaware paper contained a lot of background information so that members could familiarise themselves with the consultation including the government’s reaction to the Panel’s recommendations. The full list of recommendations was listed at the end for members’ information.

There was not time to go through the specific questions asked in the consultation. However, members put forward a number of comments and suggestions:

To include examples of where schools were working successfully together;
To stress the need for more emphasis on the issue of packed lunches and other food brought into schools;
To highlight the importance of fresh water being readily available throughout the school day (e.g. not just available in toilets);
To emphasize the need for all schools to have good quality, fully functional catering kitchens and separate teaching kitchens on site;
To call for serious investment into training of catering staff to ensure that they had the necessary skills to prepare fresh food on site.

It was noted that the report and consultation covered England only but would have implications for other parts of the UK. In Wales, there was the capacity to ‘hot serve’ school meals so the situation was different to start with.

Action: LH to revise paper and circulate on list-serve for members’ comments before finalising it in time for the 31 December deadline.

10. Any other business and date of next meeting

It was suggested that Foodaware should request FSA to respond to its papers where this does not already happen. It was agreed that this was something to be taken up with the Consumer Branch.

2006 meeting dates:

· Thursday 23 March 2006
· Thursday 22 June 2006
· Thursday 21 September 2006
· Thursday 30 November 2006

The meeting closed at 4.00 pm