The CDH requested Monday the involvement of stock farmers and producers in the management of slaughterhouses and cutting rooms such as that of Veviba, as well as a complete audit of the Federal Agency for Food Chain Security (AFSCA), the model of which — that stresses industry’s self-regulation —has once more proved its inefficacy.” “The tool (slaughter house, cutting factories) must belong, at least partially, to stock farmers, producers. By way of a cooperative, these actors are the best quality guarantee for the consumer, whereas, to this day, they are deprived of it,” stated the President of CDH, Benoit Lutgen, following a party meeting in Namur.
He thus wants a more equal balance of power between mass distribution and the farming world, to the benefit of short supply circuits. In his view, “the Veviba model is over.”
Centrists’ criticism also bears on AFSCA, of which they demand once again a complete audit against Belgian and European legislation, “as we had already requested in November, following the Fipronil affair.”
The CDH requests an increased targeting of AFSCA control objectives for the large food processing industry, as small producers working within short supply circuits are facing excessive hassles from the federal agency.
The Brussels Times
