ISBN : 9782296049031
FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS IN THE UK : A DECADE OF CHANGE
Sue Davies
In terms of BSE and what went wrong, the fundamental problem was that we did not have a separation between the protection of the public and the promotion of the interests of the food industry. They were both dealt with by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF). There appeared to be a conflict of interest. During the late 80s and early 90s there was also a focus on'light touch' regulation or deregulation and so when measures were introduced to protect the public against BSE they weren't always properly implemented and enforcement officers didn't really get the message that they had to properly enforce measures. One problem was the lack of a link up between veterinary and public health expertise. Vets and doctors weren't really talking to each other and there was an assumption from an early stage that this was just an animal health issue rather than a human health one. This was also largely reflected within the scientific community and by the fact that it was primarily dealt with by MAFF rather than the Department of Health.