Curd Cheese (Restriction on Placing on the Market) (England) Regulations 2006

rose to move to resolve, That this House calls upon Her Majesty’s Government to revoke the regulations laid before the House on 17 October (SI 2006/2787). 47th Report from the Merits Committee (Session 2005-06). The noble Lord said: My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity this evening to bring this sorrymatter to the attention of the House. I will explain why I believe that these regulations are both disproportionate and unnecessary and should be revoked. First let me establish the purpose of these regulations. They will ban, with immediate effect, a product that has been on sale for hundreds of years and which, until the European Commission stuck its oar in, was, one must assume, competently and properly regulated by our own Food Standards Agency without any problem. What are curds? They are that part of milk that is turned into cheese, the remainder being the whey. We are dealing with a healthy and historic product. I remind noble Lords of the redoubtable nursery rhyme character, Little Miss Muffett, who, ““sat on a tuffet Eating her curds and whey””. She ate not just curds but they whey as well. Miss Muffett obviously had no problem with her weight. One of the curd producers in this country is—or was—a small firm called Bowland Dairies, based in Lancashire. On 3 January this year, the dairy was given its annual inspection by the local environmental health officer, who asked for only minor changes. On 12 June, the Food and Veterinary Office of the European Commission inspected the dairy and raised concerns about Bowland accepting milk that had been subjected to what is called a rapid test for antibiotics. On 14 June, the Commission circulated a rapid alert notice stating that Bowland's products were unsafe. On 20 June, the Food Standards Agency carried out a full audit of the dairy and approved continuing production of curds on 26 June, after Bowland had made changes in procedure that were agreed with the FSA. However, on 4 July the Commission stated that because the milk used by Bowland had tested positive in the so-called rapid test for antibiotics, it did not comply with EU legislation and should not be used by Bowland for further testing and processing. The FSA stated that there was confusion over the type of milk that Bowland accepted and used, and that Bowland did not accept milk that was suspected of contamination. On 17 July, the FSA confirmed in a statement to the European Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health that: "““No evidence was found that contaminated milk was used in the production of curd cheese””." The FSA also issued an alert advising member states that Bowland’s products and systems were clear and that its products were fit for market. The Commission appended its own comments to this alert, to the effect that it did not accept the FSA's verdict, thus effectively maintaining the block on Bowland'ssales throughout the EU. Bowland reacted by going to the European Court of Justice—in this case, the court of first instance—on 8 September. The court of first instance found in Bowland's favour and ordered the Commission to withdraw both the rapid alert that it had earlier issued and its comments about Bowland Dairies. The Commission twice refused to obey that until 12 September, when the president of the Court ordered the Commission to stand aside. I have acopy of the court order with me. Typically, the Commission attempted to massage its defeat by appending its own statement to the court order, claiming that it had lost on a mere technicality. The Court instructed the Commission to strike this out, which it did. The president of the Court, Judge Vesterdorf, went so far as to say: "““It is sad that a company is dying while giants fight it out””." However, it turns out that neither the FSA nor the Government were giants when it came to protecting Bowland or the British dairy industry. Let us be absolutely clear about this; the court order meant that Bowland could resume trading and, of course, that it was safe for it to do so. The Court is the ultimate arbiter of EU legislation, not the Commission. It is significant that the Commission could have appealed against the court order but chose not to do so. It carried out a two-day audit of Bowland Dairies on 26 and 27 September, which found no major failings. In fact, Bowland was informed by the Commission auditor who carried out that inspection that any findings would be classed as ““non-emergency””. However, on 6 October the Commission issued Article 53 emergency measures, with the effect that all Bowland products were recalled or banned from use within the EU. The Commission also announced that it would begin legal proceedings against the UK food safety authorities for failing to protect the public against contaminated milk; never mind the fact that the FSA had consistently given Bowland the all clear and the court of first instance had agreed with it. The result is that Bowland's reputation was ruined, its factory closed and 26 people have lost their jobs. Yet it has done nothing wrong. I remind noble Lords that Bowland has always met the requirements of the UK Food Standards Agency. The European Court of Justice found that Bowland’s produce presented no food safety risk and that the Commission had acted beyond its powers. The FSA has repeatedly stated that it disagrees with the Commission's interpretation of its scientific tests. So where is the beef? Could the Minister please tell the House why the Government have panicked and introduced emergency regulations that are specifically designed to put Bowland Dairies out of business? The regulations are entirely specific to Bowland Dairies. Regulation 3 states: "““No person shall place on the market any curd cheese manufactured by Bowland Dairy Products Limited””." Those regulations were made on 16 October, laid before Parliament on 17 October and came into force on 18 October. There is not much chance for democratic discussion in that, is there? Why has Bowland been selected for carpet-bombing like this? Why have the Government and the FSA refused to defend the Commission proceedings and why did they cave in to a Commission line of attack that has been rejected by the European Court of Justice? Is it because they think that curd cheese from Bowland is a health hazard? That cannot be the case because Bowland has always complied with FSA requirements. If the Minister—if I can have his attention for a moment—has any evidence that Bowland's products have ever poisoned anyone, or even that a single sample has been found to be unsafe, I would be pleased to have it. Is it because the Government want to prove their communautaire credentials? That cannot be the case either—Bowland's case has, after all, been vindicated in the European Court of Justice. Or is it because the Government want to deflect the Commission's audit of the UK dairy industry, and busting Bowland is seen as their ““Get out of jail”” card? When the Minister replies to these questions, I hope that he will do rather better than the Minister in the other place in the debate on this subject on7 November. In his winding up, Mr Barry Gardiner, who I understand is a Defra Minister, simply repeated the European Commission’s allegations that Bowland had used contaminated milk. For the record, Bowland has never used products that were not tested and pasteurised as fit for purpose; Bowland did not sell mouldy or contaminated cheese and it did not sell floor waste. But it has been put out of business. Why? I beg to move. Moved to resolve, That this House calls uponHer Majesty’s Government to revoke the regulations laid before the House on 17 October (SI 2006/2787). 47th Report from the Merits Committee (Session 2005-06).—(Lord Willoughby de Broke.)