Manufacturers promised food forum to cut back on red tape

A new forum for food and drink manufacturers and retailers which will act as an early warning system for forthcoming legislation, is to be set up by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The forum will cover key European and domestic legislative proposals and UK arrangements for implementation and enforcement. It mimics a similar, successful forum for the automotive industry.

An outline commitment to establish the forum is contained in DEFRA's newly published five-year plan.

"Better regulation needs a more open and on-going dialogue between policy makers, business and regulators," said DEFRA.

It said it would meet quarterly with the Confederation of British Industry, Small Business Service, the Environment Agency and the Department for Trade and Industry to improve implementation of legislation and reduce its cost.

Although it has already pledged to cut red tape by 25%, DEFRA said it would identify problems with existing regulation, as well as conduct a study of the bureaucracy imposed on business and explore opportunities for minimising and simplifying reporting requirements. The results will be announced this summer.

Meanwhile, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has also published its strategy for the next five years, which includes a further reduction in foodborne illnesses and tighter controls to prevent meat infected by BSE or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) from entering the food chain.

Its plans include the development of a sensitive rapid live test for TSEs by 2010.

In its strategy, the FSA said it had already reduced salmonella contamination of UK-produced chicken for retail sale by 50%.

It was also on track to cut foodborne illness by 20% by 2006.