T. 07768 654955 E. scott.walker@scconsultancy.uk
Alan Craig (left), president of the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers, and Ian Anderson (right), the Association’s executive manager, present a cheque for £1000 to Jim Royan (left centre) and Alistair Donaldson in support of the Butcher Boys 100 Challenge.
Both Fellows of the Royal Agricultural Societies, Jim and Alistair have notched up a combined 100 years of meat trade experience and will be celebrating by climbing Ben Nevis on August 9 to raise funds for RSABI (formerly the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution) and the Worshipful Company of Butchers Master’s Charity (Farms for City Children).
Full details are in Jim and Ally D’s blog. Click here
Or, go direct to their sponsor form, where you can add your own cash contribution. Click here
Alan Craig, President of the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers, has welcomed the announcement by Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead of a review into the Food Standards Agency in Scotland, including its current responsibility for meat inspection.
“We have lobbied long and hard for such a review, arguing that FSA in general and meat inspection in particular, needs to be at the top of the Government’s agenda for action,” said Mr Craig, speaking at the Royal Highland Show. “We therefore applaud Richard Lochhead for the prompt and decisive manner in which he has responded to our concerns and those of the many industry bodies who have also been calling for change.
“This is an important review, the outcome of which will shape the future of meat inspection in Scotland for many years to come. Any new system, of course, must maintain, and could even enhance, food safety, which is and always has been our priority consideration. Within this context, we obviously want to see decisions taken and changes made as soon as possible, for the good of the whole Scottish meat chain. What we also need is a long-term meat inspection solution which is relevant to Scotland’s world class red meat processing sector and which will enable the Scottish meat chain to fulfil its potential at home and abroad.
“We look forward to working with the review team and will do everything within our power to help move the management of meat inspection into the modern world.”
For details of the Scottish Government announcement (click here)
Michael Moore, Secretary of State for Scotland, met food and drink industry leaders at the Scotland Office in Edinburgh earlier this week, creating an opportunity for discussion of the challenges facing the sector. The meeting was also designed to draw practical ideas from these present on how the UK Government might remove current barriers to growth.
Mr Moore opened the debate by voicing his belief in the Scottish economy’s great potential for growth. He also made it clear that he was ready to work in partnership with Scottish Ministers and other social partners to help Scottish businesses grow by listening to the people on the ground, hearing their practical ideas and acting on them.
The need for less regulation for business, more encouragement for those at the sharp end of the commercial sector and the removal of obstacles to trade duly emerged as common themes.
Speaking from a meat industry perspective, Ian Anderson, SAMW executive manager, put the case for the regulation of the sector to be much more risk-based and proportionate than happens at present. The remaining BSE controls, he added, were definitely an area where the UK Government could be more pro-active in working with the EU to remove out dated regulations.
When asked to pinpoint the industry’s most urgent need, however, Mr Anderson urged the Secretary of State to seek a production based CAP outcome which would encourage primary producers to increase the flow of essential raw materials to the Scottish industry.
He also asked Mr Moore to pass a message to Defra ministers concerning the need for increased financial support to be given to the UK Export Certification Partnership. The partnership, he added, was already doing a good job with limited resources, but could do much more to open up new export markets if it was more adequately funded.
For more details on the Scotland Office click here
SAMW has given journalists the following response to the latest FSA move on meat inspection charges:
“The FSA continues to ride roughshod over those who oppose them,” said Ian Anderson, SAMW Executive Manager. “They have ignored the welter of opposition and failed to address the fundamental points made during the consultation. The only worthwhile concession they have made is to remove the pension liability contribution from the equation. Who knows whether they would have volunteered this had SAMW not exposed the FSA pensions scandal in February. The FSA continues to tinker around the edges of the meat inspection/charges issue rather than the measures needed for radical reform. That is why SAMW and the rest of the Scottish industry sent proposals for a Scottish meat inspection service to the Cabinet Secretary on the day he was re-appointed to his former post. We look forward to an early discussion with Mr Lochhead to take this forward.”
For details of the FSA’s latest Board meeting click here
For additional meat industry comments see MJT & MM
View SAMW’s video archive. Coverage includes an industry overview from president Alan Craig filmed during the 2011 annual conference, comments on the case for a Scottish meat inspection system by Alyn Smith MEP views from Professor Pat Wall of University College Dublin on the legacy of BSE, market impressions from Jean-Luc Meriaux of UECBV and a review of meat sector opportunities by Jim McLaren chairman of Quality Meat Scotland.
T: 07768 654955 E: scott.walker@scconsultancy.uk
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