Today in Parliament I asked the Government to help with the tragic crisis that is hitting cucumber growers in the Lee Valley, and across the UK.
You can see a video above.
The full exchange was:
Robert Halfon (Harlow): Can the Leader of the House find time for an urgent statement about the E-Coli outbreak in Europe, and the UK cucumber industry? Despite British produce being perfectly safe, many farmers are seeing a fall in sales of between 30 to 50 percent, and some are already on their way to bankruptcy. Can he ask the Government to redouble their efforts for fair access to the 150 million Euros of EU compensation, and also for Russia to lift its unfair ban on UK cucumbers?
Sir George Young (Leader of the House): As my Honourable Friend said at the beginning of his remarks, there is no evidence of any contamination in the UK food chain of the E-Coli disease that has broken out in Germany. I share his concern about UK cucumber producers. All the evidence is that it is perfectly safe to eat UK cucumbers. The Food Standards Agency reminds consumers of the importance of basic food hygiene, when preparing food, but I will certainly raise with the Government the question he raises about the compensation to those who have lost their livelihood as a result of this outbreak.
by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com
Well done you!It would be nice to see the Uk getting something out of the EU instead of always giving to it. good luck to you on this one & good luck to the farmers involved,
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