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| Minutes
of Foodaware meetings |
CFG
04/02
Foodaware: the
Consumers' Food Group
Minutes of the third meeting - held on 24 January 2002
UK European Parliament, Queen Anne's Gate, London, SW1
Welcome and apologies for absence
Minutes of the last meeting
Matters arising
Constitutional issues
Update on FSA and EU issues including
future priorities
GMOs in food and feed – discussion
with FSA
Nutrition policy: follow-up paper to
Foodaware’s submission on Farming and Food
Proposed EU ban on antibiotics as growth
promoters
Any other business
Present
Members:
Dorothy Craig - (Chair) Veterinary Residues Committee (VRC)
David Alexander - National Consumer Council (NCC)
Paul Allen - European Food Law Association (EFLA) UK
Erica Bargman - European Union of Women (EUW)
Judy Brander - National Council of Women (NCW)
John Godfrey - CEG
Janet Graham - Individual Member
Michael Jobson - Trading Standards Institute (TSI)
Susan Knox - CEG and UKROFS
Penny McNeill - General Consumer Council Northern Ireland
Helen Millar - National Consumer Federation and Individual member
Sylvia Owen - Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP)
Sue Payne - National Consumer Federation (NCF)
Jacquie Salfield - Committee on Toxicity (COT)
Margaret Williams - National Federation of Women’s Institutes
Anne Wilson - Meat Hygiene Advisory Committee
Observers:
Paul Brantom - Veterinary Residues Committee (VRC)
Gilli Davies - Advisory Committee on Animal Feeding Stuff and Advisory
Committee for Wales (ACAF & ACW FSA)
Clare Devereux - Five Year Freeze/Sustain
Sheila J Graham - Veterinary Products Committee (VPC)
Dilwen Phillips - Advisory Committee for Wales (FSA ACW)
David Smith - Advisory Committee for Wales (FSA ACW)
John Verrall - Veterinary Products Committee (VPC)
Jacqui Webster - FSA Consumer Branch
Foodaware:
Ann Davison - Foodaware Manager and ERICA
Lucy Harris - UK Co-ordinator
Caroline Naett - Researcher
Jane Jeffreys - Administrative support
Apologies for absence
Members of Foodaware:
Jeanette Longfield - Sustain
Pamela Pollock - Townswomen’s Guilds
Barbara Saunders - UK Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals
Alma Williams - EU Economic and Social Committee
Members of food-related committees:
Elaine Brown - Advisory Committee on Pesticides
Anne Clayson - Pesticides Residues Committee
Sue Davies - Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals
Harriet Kimbell - Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee
D. L. S. Levy - Veterinary Products Committee
Sam Miskelly - Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland
Frieda Stack - Veterinary Residues Committee
Stella Walsh - Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition
1. Welcome and
apologies for absence
Dorothy Craig (Chair) welcomed everyone to the third meeting of Foodaware:
the Consumers’ Food Group. She gave a particular welcome to
Jacqui Webster of the FSA Consumer Branch who was attending as an
observer.
Dorothy reminded members that one of Foodaware’s roles was to
consult and support the UK consumer representatives on food related
advisory committees. These representatives had been invited to attend
the meeting and several were present. Dorothy thanked them for coming
and said she hoped the meeting would provide a useful forum for exchange
of information and views.
A number of apologies had been received and would be added to the
minutes. Everyone introduced themself and agreed that an alternative
room layout should be tried for the next meeting.
2. Minutes of
the last meeting
There was one amendment to the minutes of the last meeting –
Paul Allen noted that the EFLA’s representative had been incorrectly
listed as Penny Unir – this should have been Penny Viner. The
minutes were then agreed as a true record of the meeting with this
amendment.
3. Matters arising
It was noted that the new European Food Safety Agency (EFSA), as discussed
at the last meeting, had been launched the previous day.
Ann Davison also mentioned that the main conclusions of the imminent
report of the Food and Farming Commission had been leaked and reported
in the Daily Telegraph that morning. A copy of the article was available
for members to read. The main recommendation was that farmers should
have a green licence for subsidies.
4. Constitutional
issues
4.1 Officer holders
Dorothy Craig announced this would be her last meeting as Chair and
members thanked her warmly for her outstanding contribution over the
years both at CEG and Foodaware.
Susan Knox was unanimously elected as the new Chair and would be taking
up this position at the close of the meeting. Initially, this would
be for a period of two years after which elections would take place
again. Dorothy said she felt Susan was the right person for the job
and would do much to raise the profile of Foodaware.
Some suggested constitutional procedures were presented for discussion/approval:
- Foodaware would have one Chair and two Vice Chairs. Normally
they would serve up to three years before re-election. However,
the first Chair would serve two years so that the two sets of
elections would be separate.
- The Chair, two Vice Chairs and the director of ERICA would constitute
the Steering Committee of Foodaware. It would make recommendations
to the full Group about eligibility for membership and help to
forward the business of the Group between meetings.
Election procedure:
- All members, personal and corporate, full and observer should
be eligible to nominate. Members should normally have a month
to nominate.
- Only full organisational members of Foodaware should vote, either
at a Group meeting, or if so arranged, by postal ballot. Members
who could not be represented at the meeting might delegate their
vote in writing.
A list of members and their status was circulated for comment/correction
with a view to publishing the list, once fully verified, on the Foodaware
website.
Action: Members were invited to nominate candidates
for the two Vice Chair positions – closing date 24 February
2002.
4.2 Other constitutional issues
Ann Davison mentioned a number of other constitutional issues that
had come up over the last few months.
Firstly, if an organisation could not attend, could it send another
representative not already on their list of representatives? It was
agreed this would be acceptable if that person could speak for that
group. Otherwise the invitation should be from the Chair for the person
to attend as an expert, and they would speak at the discretion of
the Chair.
Secondly, could Foodaware join other organisations and/or sign up
to their campaigns/papers? It was agreed that, as an umbrella organisation
itself, it would be more appropriate for Foodaware to have observer
status in such cases. Also, it would normally be too cumbersome to
consult on whether or not to sign up to a campaign or paper from another
organisation. Instead such documents could be circulated to members
to sign if they wished.
4.3 Membership criteria for consumer members
of food-related committees
Dorothy thanked the representatives from food-related committees for
coming to the meeting, especially those that had travelled a long
way. She said Foodaware was keen to help them in their important work.
It had proved difficult contacting all such representatives. Jane
Jeffreys had the names of the eight that had not been traced and would
welcome help in finding them. (FSA could not help because of data
protection).
A discussion then took place on whether the consumer representatives
should be invited to all meetings (or only when their subject was
being discussed). Also on whether they should be included on the list-serve.
While everyone felt it was useful to have the representatives as part
of the group, there was no clear consensus on the above issues. The
point was made that individual members could outweigh voting members
at meetings. It was therefore agreed to discuss the issue again at
the next meeting.
5. Update on
FSA and EU issues including future priorities
Lucy Harris circulated a short coordinators report summarising the
state of play concerning FSA consultations. It included details of
the consultations to which Foodaware had responded, and other papers
finalised, (eight altogether) since the last meeting. The report also
included a list of current FSA consultations and recommendations on
priorities for action. Members agreed that responses should be prepared
for the consultations on:
- The Codex intergovernmental task force on animal feeding (mainly
concerning GM feed and labelling);
- The application of HACCP principles in licensed fresh meat and
poultry meat plants and laying down certain microbiological procedures;
- Advice on country of origin labelling.
The report also included a list of meetings at which members had represented
Foodaware over the last three months. Lucy said that the list was
not yet complete and invited members to inform her of any that had
been omitted.
A discussion took place on how to distribute papers effectively, especially
at EU level. It was agreed that Caroline should advise on this, and
co-ordinate with BEUC in the process. While a list of recipients,
especially British MEPs, was being built up, it was acknowledged that
most papers had to be specifically targeted to be effective. Members
were invited to forward suggestions of people to be added to the list.
Jacqui Webster noted that Foodaware’s European angle was one
of its main assets as far as FSA was concerned. Members were reminded
that they had an important role in distributing Foodaware papers through
their own networks.
ACTION: Caroline Naett to continue to build list
of European contacts for distribution of policy papers. Members agreed
to actively distribute Foodaware papers through their own organisations
and networks.
The role of Diane McCrea in coordinating consumer responses to various
consultations on Codex issues was discussed. It was agreed that Foodaware
should feed into this where possible and Diane should be invited to
the next meeting to discuss practical ways for Foodaware to work on
Codex issues.
ACTION: Invite Diane McCrea to next meeting.
Caroline gave a brief report on developments and activities at the
EU level. In particular, she updated members on the state of play
concerning the European Food Safety Authority; the new definition
of ‘meat’ adopted in November 2001; new rules on dioxin
in animal feed and proposals for a reform of the EU’s system
of official controls for food and feed.
She also highlighted a number of issues likely to be on the EU agenda
in the next few months. Namely: animal feeds; food controls; dietetic,
fortified foods and supplements; microbiological standards; GMOs;
additives used as flavourings; irradiation; plastics and articles
intended for contact with food; natural mineral water constituents;
BSE and pesticides.
A discussion followed on HACCP and it was agreed that Caroline should
put together a summary of the debate between the EU and USA on this
– including information from the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue
(TACD).
ACTION: Caroline to do summary of EU/USA debate on
HACCP – for members' information and to assist with Foodaware
response to current EU/FSA consultation.
6. GMOs in food
and feed – discussion with FSA
Dorothy Craig welcomed Dr Clair Baynton, Head of Novel Foods Branch
1 at the FSA. She had been invited to discuss the FSA’s views
on the European Commission’s proposals on the traceability and
labelling of GM foods and feeds.
Clair Baynton gave a brief overview of how the FSA had consulted on
the Commission proposals. This had involved the normal consultation
exercise as well as two stakeholder meetings. The FSA Board had not
been convinced that the proposals were practical but rather supported
the maintenance of the current labelling rules supplemented by rules
for ‘GM free’ labelling. They considered this approach
to be more practical and enforceable.
She added that discussions had started in September on the traceability
and labelling proposal and the first European Parliament reading was
likely to take place in May.
A lively discussion with members followed which focussed on the issue
of traceability. Clair Baynton argued that the FSA believed traceability
and labelling was too difficult, especially with commodity crops and
those that contained products derived from GM crops. She said that
the responses to the consultation had been divided on this issue.
Members argued that lot marking and other audit-based systems could
be extended to GM foods. They also highlighted the fact that the government
was willing to introduce traceability systems when it suited them
e.g. in beef production and for sheep.
Concern was also raised about the FSA position in favour of ‘GM
free’ labelling. Clair Baynton said that this was expected to
form a very small niche market but would likely carry a price premium.
She said that FSA had commissioned a study of the economics of alternative
labelling options and the results indicated that the cheapest option
for consumers would be to keep the status quo together with ‘GM
free’ labelling. Members’ expressed their concern over
‘GM-free’ foods being at a premium price and so unaffordable
to many. They believed the cost of labelling should be carried by
the new products. Members also felt that one of the problems was that
consumer benefits of GM foods were yet to be demonstrated.
In conclusion, Clair Baynton said that the FSA wanted to keep the
dialogue open with all stakeholders as negotiations proceeded in Europe
on this issue. She encouraged members to continue to give feedback
on the FSA position in the negotiations. Dorothy Craig thanked Clair
for her contribution and being willing to discuss the issues directly
with Foodaware members. She also welcomed the fact that the FSA wished
to continue the dialogue.
7. Nutrition
policy: follow-up paper to Foodaware’s submission on
Farming
and Food
John Godfrey introduced the draft paper that he had produced jointly
with Jane Wilde (who was now the Director of the All Ireland Public
Health Institute). He said that Foodaware’s work on the Farming
and Food Commission had revealed both the importance of nutrition
policy and also the failure of this issue to be addressed to date.
The paper, which was based on a previous paper of his, needed further
updating, e.g. what FSA was doing in terms of online advice and information.
One aspect of particular interest was the need for the EFSA to include
nutrition in its remit – which had been rejected to date.
Members’ comments were invited and many were put forward. These
included:
- Support for Sustain’s request for advertising to children
to be included (Susan Knox pointed out that the Consumer Committee
had recently issued an Opinion on this as agreed by 15 member
states);
- The need for regional perspectives (in view of increased devolution);
- The need to give more emphasis to the issue of overweight and
obesity
- A request for the issue of calcium to be included
- The need to highlight the importance of cooking, school meals,
and issue of access to shops
- Clarification as to whether the paper should focus on low income
issues or the wider need for national nutrition policy
- Clarification as to whom paper was addressed – should
it be more from a grass-roots perspective, with examples of good
practice, not just what government should do?
- The need to look at what FSA is currently doing – what
does Foodaware support and what else is needed?
- How to use the paper to lobby at the European level –
especially in relation to the White Paper on food safety e.g.
lack of European dietary guidelines.
John Godfrey thanked members for their comments. He said he believed
the paper should be aimed at government as a whole (DoH, DEFRA, DTI,
FSA etc) and also at the European level including on the issue of
the CAP. He pointed out the European consumer organisations were not
united on some of issues covered.
It was agreed that John would prepare a revised draft for discussion
at the next meeting.
ACTION: John Godfrey to revise the paper in time
to circulate before the next meeting.
8. Proposed EU
ban on antibiotics as growth promoters
Caroline Naett introduced her draft paper on antimicrobial resistance
(CFG 01/02). She said that consumer organisations to date had focused
on the use of antibiotics in animal feeds as growth promoters (as
opposed to use of antibiotics used to treat or prevent disease). There
were concerns about the implications for public health particularly
as resistance to antibiotics was increasingly being recognised as
a serious human health problem.
Developments had been taking place at the EU level. Four of the eight
permitted antibiotics were now to be banned and, from 2006, all use
of antibiotics as growth promoters would be banned. However, this
had also become an international trade issue with the USA objecting
to the EU position.
The Consumer Committee had also asked for a total ban in the use of
antibiotics in agricultural production i.e. in crop use. However,
Caroline had not found scientific data to back up this recommendation
and invited members to give their opinion.
Overall, her paper aimed to support the positive moves that were taking
place on this issue in Europe and highlight the remaining problem
areas.
In the discussion that followed, members expressed their concern about
the issue and stressed the need to re-emphasise the policy position
agreed by the old CEG food-working group. Specific concerns were raised
about the severity of the problem (antibiotic resistance could be
provoked by a variety of causes); how to deal with imports into the
EU e.g. Chinese poultry meat; the need for more research, and also
the need for figures on total usages broken down into categories (medical,
agricultural etc) and monitoring as to whether usage was actually
decreasing over time.
9. Any other
business
Members thanked Dorothy Craig again for all she had done to get Foodaware
off the ground and expressed their hope that she would stay involved.
Member of the group, Barbara Saunders, was congratulated for having
recently been awarded the OBE.
Members were invited to take travel expense forms (from Jane Jeffreys).
Date of the next meeting will be Thursday 18 April (as previously
agreed).
The meeting closed at approximately 4 pm.
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