The aggressive approach of local authorities towards small-scale producers is continuing. Local food producers often struggle to conform with rigid requirements that demand disproportionate investments suitable for large-scale rather than small-scale industrial production.
In Belgium, José Munnix, one of the last two producers of raw milk Herve, also a Slow Food Presidium, has been ordered by the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) not to produce or sell any more cheese, even though he hasn’t received written confirmation of this. Last Saturday, FASFC announced that it could intervene, destroying his entire business production and closing down his cellar. Today FASFC’s definitive decision still isn’t clear.
In order to maintain the minimum standards of all producers (who must comply with guidelines regarding good practice for hygiene), Slow Food invites the relevant authorities at the national, regional and local level to use the margins of flexibility already established in the European food hygiene regulations.
The Slow Food Liège Convivium has now organized a day of resistance for dairies, taking place this Thursday in Ciney, to facilitate a meeting between artisanal producers and FASFC.
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