000141 EU Edges Toward Detailed Labeling for Beef

Brussels - A majority of European Union farm ministers supported the idea of a detailed labeling system for beef in a bid to boost consumer confidence in the wake of the mad cow scare, officials said.

Member states have been asked to approve a European Commission proposal that beef must be labeled from September.

Some countries, including France and Germany, are pushing hard to have a label that goes beyond just “of EU origin” and want more detailed information including the country of birth and slaughter to be included.

“Consumers want to know as much as possible, as quickly as possible,” French Farm Minister Jean Glavany told journalists after the ministerial debate.

“A label showing the member state where the animal was born, where it was raised and where it was slaughtered is the minimum. I would say this was the dominant position (among ministers).”

But some states argue such a detailed system is premature and would impose an unfair cost burden on their meat processors. They would prefer to wait until 2003, when the Commission has said it will enforce more comprehensive labels.

Britain's Agriculture Minister Nick Brown said he also supported moves giving consumers full information, and was willing to support detailed labels, including the option to have indications of regional quality such as “Scotch Beef.”

But he also said he would accept an “of EU origin” mark if the animal had been born, raised and slaughtered in different member states.

Ministers are expected to take a final decision later this year after the European Parliament examines the issue in March.

Both France and Germany have cited labeling as one of the obstacles to lifting bans on British beef over fears the meat may still be contaminated with mad cow disease, or BSE.

The EU removed its ban on British beef exports last August subject to strict controls, but the two countries have defied the ruling and maintained their import blockades.

German Health Minister Andrea Fischer has said in the past that tighter labeling requirements must be introduced before the embargo can be removed.

The European Commission took France to court earlier this month because of its refusal to comply and has threatened to do the same with Germany unless it moves quickly to end the ban.

EU diplomats say the issue of how to label beef is certain to influence Berlin's thinking on the issue and Germany's Bundesrat, or upper house, is expected to debate the beef ban issue next month.

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