Comments on: Who pays the cost of food safety? http://www.irisheconomy.ie/index.php/2009/05/28/who-pays-the-cost-of-food-safety/ Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:52:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Stephen Douglas http://www.irisheconomy.ie/index.php/2009/05/28/who-pays-the-cost-of-food-safety/#comment-8562 Stephen Douglas Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:02:03 +0000 http://www.irisheconomy.ie/?p=2437#comment-8562 Who pays if food safety is not guaranteed? The consumer, with their health. The analogy between a risk assessment based regulatory system for global and national finance-related sytems and the the risk assessment based regulatory system for food within the context of the WTO is glaring. As the implications of this philosophy of regulation's failure in the financial system are gradually taken on board, how long will it be before someone calls time too on the laissez-faire led madness of desk based risk assessments and non-inspections of food? Who pays if food safety is not guaranteed? The consumer, with their health. The analogy between a risk assessment based regulatory system for global and national finance-related sytems and the the risk assessment based regulatory system for food within the context of the WTO is glaring. As the implications of this philosophy of regulation’s failure in the financial system are gradually taken on board, how long will it be before someone calls time too on the laissez-faire led madness of desk based risk assessments and non-inspections of food?

]]> By: Pat Donnelly http://www.irisheconomy.ie/index.php/2009/05/28/who-pays-the-cost-of-food-safety/#comment-8251 Pat Donnelly Fri, 29 May 2009 05:53:32 +0000 http://www.irisheconomy.ie/?p=2437#comment-8251 Failure to build up the food industry is down to the members of the industry. Asking the government to lead is a waste of time, particularly in Ireland. There are going to be more scandals. The food issue is an opportunity to vastly improve wealth but it requires hard work and a long term view. It will only be accepted after another decade of these problems. Expect Ireland's competitors to check on quality to ensure that this happens. They can scent blood in the water ..... No one is going to help unless it is in their interest to do so. Basic. If I wanted to cry conspiracy, I would ask to see what scope exists for sabotage in an industry of fundamental importance to the country. Failure to build up the food industry is down to the members of the industry. Asking the government to lead is a waste of time, particularly in Ireland.

There are going to be more scandals. The food issue is an opportunity to vastly improve wealth but it requires hard work and a long term view. It will only be accepted after another decade of these problems. Expect Ireland’s competitors to check on quality to ensure that this happens. They can scent blood in the water ….. No one is going to help unless it is in their interest to do so. Basic.
If I wanted to cry conspiracy, I would ask to see what scope exists for sabotage in an industry of fundamental importance to the country.

]]> By: Lefournier http://www.irisheconomy.ie/index.php/2009/05/28/who-pays-the-cost-of-food-safety/#comment-8243 Lefournier Thu, 28 May 2009 23:01:52 +0000 http://www.irisheconomy.ie/?p=2437#comment-8243 Who pays? The taxpayers, obviously (cf. also child abuse, NAMA, army deafness etc.). The very last group that would ever be asked to pay is the agri-business. The Committee went along with the story that the problem was discovered by an Irish lab during routine tests in late November. Why then was all pork destroyed from 1 September? Because the Dutch had discovered the problem earlier! So why did the Committee not invite someone from the Dutch labs? Who pays? The taxpayers, obviously (cf. also child abuse, NAMA, army deafness etc.). The very last group that would ever be asked to pay is the agri-business.

The Committee went along with the story that the problem was discovered by an Irish lab during routine tests in late November. Why then was all pork destroyed from 1 September? Because the Dutch had discovered the problem earlier! So why did the Committee not invite someone from the Dutch labs?

]]> By: Donal O'Brolchain http://www.irisheconomy.ie/index.php/2009/05/28/who-pays-the-cost-of-food-safety/#comment-8242 Donal O'Brolchain Thu, 28 May 2009 21:47:44 +0000 http://www.irisheconomy.ie/?p=2437#comment-8242 "In Denmark, a sophisticated traceability system would allow Danish rashers purchased by a customer to be traced back to a particular process in a particular plant at a particular time on a particular day. No such system operates in Ireland. Although the Department of Agriculture and Food has set up a review group to consider what improvements can be made, it highlights the extra costs this would imply for processors and the tight profit margins in which they operate." Do Danish processors have higher margins? If so, is it because they can command higher prices due to the traceability system? Based on what have written, I presume that this traceability system is of a higher standard than is required by EU Is this a case of a do-minimum approach by the Irish food sector? Comply with EU (lowest common denominator?) standards and then rely on government to pick up the tab when things go wrong? Does highlighting the costs imply that the improvements will not be brought in? Or that they will only be brought in if the processors do not have to carry these costs directly? “In Denmark, a sophisticated traceability system would allow Danish rashers purchased by a customer to be traced back to a particular process in a particular plant at a particular time on a particular day. No such system operates in Ireland. Although the Department of Agriculture and Food has set up a review group to consider what improvements can be made, it highlights the extra costs this would imply for processors and the tight profit margins in which they operate.”

Do Danish processors have higher margins? If so, is it because they can command higher prices due to the traceability system? Based on what have written, I presume that this traceability system is of a higher standard than is required by EU

Is this a case of a do-minimum approach by the Irish food sector? Comply with EU (lowest common denominator?) standards and then rely on government to pick up the tab when things go wrong?

Does highlighting the costs imply that the improvements will not be brought in? Or that they will only be brought in if the processors do not have to carry these costs directly?

]]>