Food under scrutiny

According to Miklós Süth, national chief vet, food on the shelves in stores and marketplaces is going to be as safe again as it should be. Consumer trust has diminished in recent years, though it is hard to tell exactly when. In past decades, it was natural that the food we saw on the shelves in stores and in the marketplace was safe. Nowadays, all we hear is that authorities are waging a relentless campaign against the re-labelling gangs. Many tens of thousands of inspections are carried out before major celebrations and the results are shocking. The authorities have recognised the fact that their best ally is publicity. They speak very openly about their almost undercover operations, where heavily guarded, secret re-labelling facilities are raided. They have promised, that our food for Easter will be safe, and all legal food and beverage producers can expect surprise inspections. They are using a mathematical model to predict which organisations are likely to break the rules. Parliament will probably amend relevant legislation in the second half of the year, so that law breakers will have a much harder time in the future. Businesses where untraceable stocks are found will have their licenses withdrawn for 30 or 60 days or even a year. Inspections are not sufficient in themselves, support from consumers is also needed to fight re-labelling. Educating consumers to be conscious about what they buy is a priority. The Ministry of Agriculture will soon start a food-academy where consumers can learn everything they need to know about food safety.