India wants to sell us sub standard produce in trade deal

[Bookaboo]

theecologist.org/2018/jul/17/uk-india-trade-review-calls-flexibility-food-standards-and-chemical-rules

“The EU’s limits on the amount of chemical residue found in food products is clearly a source of aggravation to Indian businesses, who describe complications complying with rules on a range of exports:

Trace amounts of of fungicide in basmati rice
Growth retarding chemicals in grapes
Aflatoxins in chillies and spices
Antibiotics in fish products
Food hygiene standards at processing plants involved in milk products such as paneer”

Hopefully we will remain aligned to EU standards and refuse to compromise on this for the sake of a trade deal!

This too

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-market-trader-spray-paint-malachite-green-vegetable-dye-a7319376.html

We do all realise that UK pig welfare standards are much higher than the EU, but we currently cannot stop EU pork products being sold in the UK.

EU food regulations are very stringent. That doesn't mean no chemicals are used at all of course, but chemical use is closely monitored and very importantly, so is food labelling (something the Americans, for example, are less keen on).

You are right to be concerned. Luckily, 82% of people in a poll carried out by the IPPR earlier this year were opposed to any lowering of food standards, so it would be politically difficult to make any trade deals which resulted in that. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-trade-deal-theresa-may-us-uk-eu-chlorine-chicken-food-safety-standards-poll-a8292496.html. Not to mention that we will almost certainly have to remain aligned with EU regulations anyway I'd we want any hope of continuing trade easily.

EU food regulations are very stringent
And designed primarily to be protectionist. I mean that in the sense of trade and making sure their own produce is favoured. Also they are not applied consistently - how many traditional cheese makers in France comply with the "regulation" to only use pasteurised milk?

Just another example of burdensome, inconsistent, excessive regulatory burden dreamt up by a fat and unnecessary bureaucracy.

Sadly bureaucracy is necessary to ensure standards and having a coverage of 28 countries speaking at least 25? languages.
Technical advances require constant updating of rules and regulations.
China buys a lot of milk based products from the EU because not all Chinese producers can be trusted in terms of safety. Scrapping this bureaucracy would endanger lives.

I dare say the traditional makers of chese in the village of Camembert would love to have regulations relaxed as their 'recipe' calls for unpasteurised Normandie cows milk.

Around 15% of French cheese is made with unpasteurised milk - EU regulations allow 'regional' variations for traditional foodstuffs.

If we deployed the same alarmists language used by the OP regarding India, the headline regarding Camembert would be:

EU allows France to bend it's own rules on Food
France is allowed to sell us cheese made with germ-infested milk

No one called racism on similar threads on here talking about America's food production standards in the context of post-Brexit trade deals. Funny that.

The people in positions of power in America are, predominantly the same race / racial heritage as Europeans.

EU food regulations are massively protectionist and harm / disadvantage food producers in some of the poorer countries. The farmers in those countries and the majority of people in positions of power tend to be dark skinned.

Casual and institutional racism is on the march right across Europe. You encounter it in France, Hungary, Poland and Hungary - at levels we (in the UK made unacceptable in the 1970's).

OP's alarmist thread title and link to an fear mongering article is feeding a populist beast that is already gaining power in Europe.