Friday, 17 October 2014 10:41

Need for independent food safety agency: O'Connor

Written by 

MPI's HANDLING of information over the food bug reinforces concerns about resourcing at the Ministry and adds fuel to Labour's repeated calls for an independent food safety agency, says Labour's Food Safety spokesman Damien O'Connor.

 

The Ministry for Primary Industries' release of Environmental Science and Research's initial reports regarding the sources of a nasty stomach bug will be little comfort to the 127 people affected by it, O'Connor says.

"This information should have been released as soon as ESR had carried out the initial investigation," he says.

"When it comes to food safety, MPI surely knows it is always better to be safe rather than sorry, yet it has been anything but helpful to consumers since the outbreak was confirmed last month, leaving it up to a concerned medical specialist to warn the public about potential sources.

"The Ministry has dragged the chain on this investigation and possibly put consumers at risk by not releasing the information from ESR when it first received it.

"Given the investigation is ongoing, it is now up to MPI to relay any further material it receives from ESR to consumers so they can make informed decisions about their food purchasing choices.

"The public should also be told exactly how long MPI expects it will take to come up with some definitive answers about the source of the bug."

More like this

Featured

$52,500 fine for effluent mismanagement

A Taupiri farming company has been convicted and fined $52,500 in the Hamilton District Court for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent into the environment.

Ospri brings Bovine TB testing in-house

The move to bring bovine TB testing in-house at Ospri officially started this month, as a team of 37 skilled and experienced technicians begin work with the disease eradication agency.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Arable advocacy?

OPINION: Spare a thought for the arable farmer, squeezed on one side by soft global prices and on the other…

Gaslight much?

OPINION: Labour leader Chris 'Chippy' Hipkins is carrying on the world-class gaslighting of the nation that he and his cohorts…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter