New consumer laws

[woolybanana]

It seems there are new laws coming in concerning the labelling of food.

Some concern declaring the ingredients of food in more detail whilst others will oblige restaurants to declare any known allergens used in their cooking ( how the heck they know beats me).

BUT, one measure seems a really big step backwards and is undoubtedly a victory for the bloody French meat lobby; from now on, meat will be labelled sold under a general classification and not specific types. Thus the word 'steak' may be used to describe a whole gamut of meats which were originally sold under their separate labels of 'filet', 'bavette' etc. The result seems to mean that vendors can sell any hunk of meat as steak and the consumer will be none the wiser.

This applies to all the main types of red meat. So, folks, keep your eyes open or they meat industry will screw you.

Edit: there is a new star system in place from 13th December: three stars for excellent, two stars for average and one star for well, rubbish. I havent yet found out if there is a no star system but if there is, my dogs are not getting it because it could be bad for them.

[Gardian]

A backward step indeed on the meat front WB.

I can remember very well some years back buying some 'steak' in a local hyper when our sons were here.

It was described as 'viande bovine', which can often be (and probably was in this case) quite elderly dairy cows which have reached the end of their days. Quite different to beef cattle raised for the purpose. Anyway, it was simply inedible.

We only buy meat from a local market trader now - GG knows who I mean. In truth, they're not that much more expensive (maybe 20% or so), but the quality is worlds apart.

All their cuts are clearly marked (a variety that you'd rarely see in the UK) and I somehow doubt that any legislation will change their modus operandi in any way. Hope not anyway.

[woolybanana]

In supermarkets, beef in white trays was from old dairy cattle whereas that in black trays was from beef cattle. Whether that distinction continues or not, I don't yet know.

It may well be that this will lead to a resurgence of the small butcher though, or even a reduction in the amount of meat eaten.

And what will happen to label rouge meat, how will that be treated under the new system?

Murky, murky.

[PaulT]

Perhaps though, the most important part is te allergen information.

Some people have extremely violent reactions to certain items so it has been a bit of a gamble in what they eat.

Inevitably, it throws up the more comical such as bags of nuts stating 'may contain nuts'.

[woolybanana]

Yes, Paul, you are right about that. Will be interesting to see how manufacturers and restaurants deal with it.

One other thing from the news last night; only two sizes of text are allowed on packaging giving this information, which I think eliminates the very small texts that are unreadable. Oh, and some allergens etc will be printed in bold.

So, guys, take your reading glasses with you when shopping.