Polish sausage smokers win in Brussels

Polish meat banThe European Commission has endorsed revised legislation allowing food producers to continue selling products on the domestic market in spite of exceeding new restrictions on carcinogenic substances.

However, the products cannot be exported to other EU member states, and they must be officially listed as traditional foods. As of 1 September, it would have been illegal to sell food products that contained more than 2 micrograms of Benzo[a]pyrene per kilogram. Until now, 5 micrograms of the carcinogenic substance were permissible, but the September revision would have outlawed about 20 percent of Poland’s smoked meat products.

The European Commission’s health spokesman Frederic Vincent has confirmed that products sold on the domestic market must still meet the early criteria, allowing for a maximum of 5 micrograms of Benzo[a]pyrene per kilogram.

About 70 percent of the traditional Polish food products that would have been banned are from southern Poland (specifically the Malopolska and Podkarpackie regions). The so-called List of Traditional Products is maintained in by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Source: Polskie Radio - nh - PAP

http://www.thenews.pl/1/12/Artykul/175261,Polish-sausage-smokers-win-in-Brussels-