Take These (Supply) Chains from My Heart

[al_yrpal]

At my Saumur poisoning it was pork fillets. At my Deaville poisoning it was a roll with mayonaise in it. At Honfleur it was chicken. And, at Calais it was mussels which stunk. I have had Oysters, Fruit de Mere, Moules and Frites and fish frequently in France - no problem with any of that. Just bad French hygene and kitchen practices. Just as well we have the scores on the doors here keeping us safe.

I think the US practice of washing chickens in chlorinated water is a good idea. It is said to be a catch all for lack of hygene at earlier stages and that may be, but a chlorinated wash isnt harmful to the consumer. Daily swimming in chlorinated pools isnt deemed harmful.

Personally I am glad that imported stuff is all thoroughly checked particularly as we import a lot of foodstuffs from the EU.

Al

[tim-b]

The latest figures are concerning too...

In 2022 there were 5,763 foodborne outbreaks in the EU – a 44% increase compared with 2021

https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/to ... e-diseases

The 2023 figures can't be too far from being published, so maybe we'll see something different

[reohn2]

What's polluting the River Wye?

[ANTONISH]

21 years living here in France and holidaying here for over 30 and never had food poisoning.

If you insist on eating filter feeding shellfish you're playing Russian roulette.
A good friend loves oysters and eats them regularly. he's frequently suffering from what he calls a 'gastro'.
Apart from a very few occasions I avoid all fish unless it has scales.

I also avoid posh restaurants as the food is mucked about with far more than i like. The more food is handled the greater the risk.
I seek out restaurants that aim at lunch for workers. Never been disappointed so far.

I think you need to be more selective on your choice of where to eat.

I'm inclined to agree with that.
We usually go to France a couple of times a year.
A few years ago we were making multiple weekend trips + Semaine Federale and usually a week or so somewhere else.
Personally I've never had an adverse reaction to restaurant food.
I don't like shellfish and hence avoid it - my partner has had a fair amount of "moules frites" and seems not to have had a problem.
Her one problem was due to her liking for apple juice - having filled a bottle with it she wouldn't let me take the bottle for sterilising (my normal practice.
The next day she topped up the bottle with more apple juice - with unfortunate consequences.

[Jdsk]

Sausages

"Where are my favourite sausages?":
https://www.scandikitchen.co.uk/sausages/

Emphasis again on the disproportionate problems for small businesses.

Other deli products are also available, or in this case not:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... t-uk-delis

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

Cold chains

"New Post-Brexit Border Controls Will Jeopardise Food Supply Chain and Increase Food Prices, UK Cold Chain Warns":
https://www.coldchainfederation.org.uk/ ... ain-warns/

From the end of April many EU food businesses supplying the UK are going to have a substantial new administrative burden and considerably higher costs to send temperature-controlled products here. We can expect many to stop exporting to the UK at all, particularly small artisan producers. Those that do continue may see up to £1,000 added to the cost of one multi-consignment lorry entering the UK and will likely need to pass on a significant portion of those costs with higher prices.

We can also expect cost increases and food wastage as a result of unnecessary delays, disruption and paperwork confusion, because cold chain operators and their EU customers are still waiting for clarity in a number of areas about what they will actually need to do. We are still waiting to hear from Government about how some key parts of the new process will work, and we have serious concerns about the readiness of the Border Control Posts. The UK’s cold chain operators have identified strong solutions to many of the foreseeable problems, we are asking Government to work with us urgently to limit the damage.

Jonathan

[tim-b]

Shane Brennan, (2023) Chief Executive of the Cold Chain Federation looked at this twelve months ago and his opinion then was that smaller suppliers would be put off by "millions of pounds in friction costs", but that larger suppliers would continue business with the UK.
These changes will affect a minority of overall imports from the EU

There's no doubt that costs will increase for certain goods, but "The new food import control model is not all bad. Good people have been working very hard, for many years to try and find innovations. The explicit commitment to a risk-based categorisation of foods means that vast amounts of foods will be classified as low risk, mainly fruits and vegetables, and shelf stable products. By volume, this will be most imports. Importers of low-risk goods will have to do less certification and face low to zero inspections at the UK border."

"There is always opportunity in adversity. This may be the point at which post-Brexit realignments in how we source our food will fully play out. For some the hope will be greater reliance on domestic production, others will see a rebalancing of our import trade away from the EU suppliers to other places in the world. Whether the result is good or bad for the UK economy, our climate goals, or UK consumers, remains to be seen.
This is perhaps the last Brexit-transition sticking plaster that we have to rip off, but don’t believe them when they tell you it’s not going to hurt."
https://ukandeu.ac.uk/what-do-the-new-b ... od-supply/

What we have needed since the 1980s is a Government that would revitalise farming, agriculture, etc to levels where the UK could produce most of the food that we need. That isn't a problem of Brexit and has been worsening for decades

[Jdsk]

Shane Brennan, (2023) Chief Executive of the Cold Chain Federation looked at this twelve months ago...

And now they've looked at this with a few weeks to go and the new processes aren't ready.

Is there an effect both nationally and in this forum that by continually taking it back to decisions made in the past and whether they were right or wrong we don't get on with managing the future?

The referendum was in 2016 and we Left the EU at the end of 2020. We need to sort out our supply chains.

Jonathan

[al_yrpal]

The gliterati (mainly to be found in London Oxford and Cambridge) are having the wurst time of their lives....

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... GTUK_email

Al

[Paulatic]

There's no doubt that costs will increase for certain goods, but "The new food import control model is not all bad. Good people have been working very hard, for many years to try and find innovations. The explicit commitment to a risk-based categorisation of foods means that vast amounts of foods will be classified as low risk, mainly fruits and vegetables, and shelf stable products. By volume, this will be most imports. Importers of low-risk goods will have to do less certification and face low to zero inspections at the UK border."

Why is it 'good people' can’t see that high risk foods will now be hidden within low risk consignments?

[tim-b]

Why is it 'good people' can’t see that high risk foods will now be hidden within low risk consignments?

Has that changed?
01/04/11-31/03/12: Products Of Animal Origin were seized on entering the UK on 10,537 occasions, a total of 79,277kg, but only 5.5% were found in freight. 94.5% were personal imports. Tighter controls since Brexit = more seizures

"Inspectors discovered raw animal products stashed in carrier bags and tissue without temperature control, refrigeration or labels.
The items were not separated from products such as cheese, crisps and cake."
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/p ... 33827.html

[tim-b]

Is there an effect both nationally and in this forum that by continually taking it back to decisions made in the past and whether they were right or wrong we don't get on with managing the future?

I can only say that this system has been worked out and that its respective industry is as happy as it can be with that system

The system is in place to manage the future, what we don't have is a generation of politicians that are capable of grasping their role in this and resourcing that system. I don't expect the next government to be any better

[Jdsk]

Is there an effect both nationally and in this forum that by continually taking it back to decisions made in the past and whether they were right or wrong we don't get on with managing the future?

I can only say that this system has been worked out and that its respective industry is as happy as it can be with that system

The system is in place to manage the future, what we don't have is a generation of politicians that are capable of grasping their role in this and resourcing that system. I don't expect the next government to be any better

Many people managing the supply chains and depending on them to work are saying the opposite: that we're not ready for 30 April. The Cold Chain Federation are a typical example, as cited upthread.

Jonathan

PS: It's very similar to the reduced Eurostar services, but in that case for people rather than goods.

[Jdsk]

The French have always checked passports so I am not sure that post Brexit checks are new? Perhaps they are checking for the 90 day rule?

Yes, there's a lot more checking that has to be done now. Including recording those dates for the 90 day rule. it takes considerably longer.

And there are other factors causing the current chaos at Dover.

And, as observed above, we haven't yet implemented EES with biometric checks. And intergovernmental relations should be expected to deteriorate in the near future.

Comments on the introduction of EES from the Chief Executive of the Port of Dover:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63074703

I'd take something to read.

NB date.

"Kent councillors warn of traffic trouble ahead with introduction of EU’s Entry Exit System":
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news ... du-303102/

That's the changes planned for 6 October 2024. Although I'm using the word "planned" very loosely.

Jonathan

[tim-b]

Many people managing the supply chains and depending on them to work are saying the opposite: that we're not ready for 30 April. The Cold Chain Federation are a typical example, as cited upthread

I don't think that what I said is the opposite.
The Government isn't grasping their role in addressing concerns and making necessary decisions
To compound that they aren't putting the right people in place at the right time