EU retreats from olive oil ban after wave of ridicule

EU Observer ^ | 23.05.13 @ 17:42 | Honor Mahony

[Olog-hai]

The European Commission has been forced to beat a hasty retreat from a proposed ban on jugs of olive oil in restaurants after the idea met with widespread ridicule.

Barely a week after it was announced for “hygiene” and “consumer protection” purposes, the EU commissioner in charge, Dacian Ciolos, rushed to the same press room on Thursday (23 May) to announce he was withdrawing the measure. …

The proposal would have banned jugs and dipping bowls of olive oil in restaurants from next year and was meant to prevent restaurant-goers from being served any old inferior oil.

It had been pushed by big olive-oil-producing countries and reached the adoption stage by default—having been given the go-ahead by the European Commission as an insufficient number of member states opposed it. …

[Cowboy Bob]

The name “Dacian Ciolos” should be remembered. He should become the poster boy for stupidity and government overreach. Every time the EU tries to impose their will on people, his name should be brought up. He needs to be personally mocked and ridiculed.

[Sir Francis Dashwood]

Those great debts really knock me out
They kick the West’s behind
Angela’s blubbery cellulite is hanging out
That EU troika is always on my, my, my, my mind

Take me to the Carpathian Mountains way down South
Let me foreclose your daddy’s farm
All the way the bankers’ hands are reaching out
Come and keep your comrade warm

I’m back in the EUSSR
You don’t know how lucky you are, boy

Back in the EU
Back in the EU
Back in the EUSSR

[glyptol]

Let’s ban the salt and pepper shakers also. Make sure when you open the door to the cafe it has been sterilized.
I have seen more lost time at work because people who were sick came to work with the flu and made others sick.
If you have evil intent to poison the olive oil removing the olive oil does not remove the evil intent.
Let’s all just stay at home with our doors locked and be happy. And don’t drink the water. You don’t know were it’s been/s

[Red in Blue PA]

Glad no EU nations have pressing issues like crushing debt.

[rawcatslyentist]

Dacian = Euro Bloomberg.

[proxy_user]

It is probably true that many restaurants serve phony olive oil. The local authorities can, if they wish, crack down on this.

[I want the USA back]

Send bloomberg. He’ll know what to do.

[SeminoleCounty]

Amazing that, with all the failure and nuttiness of the EU....people still think Free Trade works, and want a similar group for the US and No. America.

What Einstein said about insanity...

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Olog-hai.

[Maceman]

Let’s all just stay at home with our doors locked and be happy.

The Indoors Song

[KarlInOhio]

It's worth it if it prevents even one customer from getting "hussy", "slut" or even downright "whore" grade olive oil instead of the promised extra virgin oil. < /s>

More seriously, there has to be more to this than was in the article. Why would olive oil producing countries push for removing oil from the table? That would be like tomato producers wanting ketchup removed from tables.

[martin_fierro]

FAIL

[Veto!]

I really don’t like using those bottles of soy sauce and hot sauce on the tables, sticky from other people’s hands, Yuk. People with flu go to restaurants too.

[50sDad]

Smaller growers have many mom and pop bistros that buy small-batch local oil. There are many, many nuanced growers, with tasty varieties preferred at “your” corner eateries. In the name of Protecting You from the rare fake oil, they wanted universally sealed, uniform, plastic-wrapped packages labelled with EXACTLY where it was grown, calorie content, additives...the whole Bloomberg. It would (literally) squeeze out small local growers by increasing costs, and demanding exacting testing of a very simple product. Big, commercial growers would stomp out the family growers.

[KarlInOhio]

OK, that makes sense. Drive up one time costs which has little effect on the unit cost of big producers but kills the little guy. Government regulations do the same thing here which is why the big companies ally with big government so readily,

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Perfect example of Central Command vs Free Markets in action.

The simple, no-cost, no-regulation market-based way

if a restaurant is serving "old inferior oil" in jugs, the consumers can go elsewhere, put the restauranteur out of business, and let another pop up in its place.

The Fascist EU way:

[Olog-hai]

That part isn’t true. Olive oil producers wouldn’t be lobbying the EU for draconian restrictions on their industry.