Press Release: Commission starts infringement proceedings against the UK for failure to act on food safety violations

The European Commission has decided to initiate infringement proceedings against the UK government, due to its lack of response to identified food safety problems in a UK dairy establishment. The Commission considers that the national authorities’ failure to take appropriate measures in response to unlawful and unhygienic practices in Bowland Dairy (see IP/06/1337) constitutes an infringement of EU legislation. In the Commission’s opinion, the UK government did not fulfill its obligation to effectively enforce EU rules and mitigate risks to consumer safety, despite being fully aware of the serious problems that the EU’s Food and Veterinary Office found in this dairy. The Commission is particularly concerned about the acceptance shown by the UK authorities towards the placing on the market of milk which tested positive for antibiotics and which was not shown to be within the required EU maximum residue levels.