It's time to take the politics out of food ...

The level of risk was negligible in the context of the daily exposure to dioxin from other sources. As the Food Standards Agency (FSA) website informs us: dioxin causes ‘no immediate effect on our health’ but can cause problems if eaten in high levels over a long period. What is the value of such advice when the action taken in response to this incident is at a level appropriate for an acute danger to health?

It hardly inspires confidence, when, despite official reassurance that consumption would not be harmful, pigs were slaughtered in such large numbers and retailers withdrew foods such as quiches containing even the smallest amounts of egg traced back to the farms affected.

It would not be surprising, therefore, if consumers were to misguidedly perceive these infinitesimal risks as greater in practice than acknowledged by the FSA and other government agencies.

Nor does such behaviour help to educate consumers about degrees of risk.

Zero-risk society?​

So we move inexorably closer to a zero-risk society. That is in no-one’s interests because, as well as the arguably unwarranted wastage of vast quantities of wholesome food, the morality could be questioned when you consider the number of starving people for whom such food might have meant the difference between life and death.

I am not saying it should have been given to them, but the reaction to the incident has squandered some of the world’s finite food resources and the energy associated with its production, packaging, transport and ultimate destruction.

Moreover, incidents such as this provide further pretexts to third countries to ban imports that hurt trading. In this case, China has banned imports from Germany – not because of any real risk but to pursue a hidden agenda that is associated with international politics.

Risk aversion​

It is time the food and farming industry, governments and consumer interests got together to consider repositioning the goalposts to redress the risk aversion that is causing so much destruction, undermining confidence in food safety and incurring needless costs.

The food sector can ill-afford them and they could be added to the prices paid by consumers who, in turn, are sleep-walking into a state in which imaginary risks outweigh the appreciation of food.

It is time to take the politics out of food along with unnecessary waste and costs.

Clare Cheney is director general of the Provision Trade Federation.​​​

Contact her at: clare.cheney@provtrade.co.uk​​