At Hull University in 2004 and again at York University in 2007 Richard Corbett supported in front of the young audience, the commission view that there was no Euro Legislation for misshaped fruit or vegetable it was a myth perpetuated by Euro-sceptics.
Will he now concede he was either ignorant or wilfully deceitful?
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2 comments:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6481969.stm
Here is the correct answer: the commissioners have no problem with straight bananas, it's the crooked ones they don't like so much, but they have never banned them. As Commission Regulation (EC) 2257/94 puts it, bananas must be "free from malformation or abnormal curvature". In the case of "Extra class" bananas, there is no wiggle room, but Class 1 bananas can have "slight defects of shape", and Class 2 bananas can have full-on "defects of shape".
No attempt is made to define "abnormal curvature" in the case of bananas, which must lead to lots of arguments. Contrast the case of cucumbers (Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1677/88), where Class I and "Extra class" cucumbers are allowed a bend of 10mm per 10cm of length. Class II cucumbers can bend twice as much.
Setting standards does not equal bans. When you've got a gigantic market as the EU does, it is always a good idea to have standards to ensure that bananas sold in the UK are of the same quality as those sold in Romania.
So Mastgrr,
You point out that bendy bananas have a get out clause, but cucumbers do not.
So Corbett was still being dishonest. (at least about cucumbers)
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