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France angry at US foie gras ban
BBC ^
| 2-25-04
Posted on 02/25/2004 1:29:36 PM PST by Indy Pendance
France's agriculture minister has defended French food safety rules, saying a US ban on imports of French meat products was "unjustified".
The one-month ban on meat products such as sausages, hams and foie gras was imposed on Tuesday on safety grounds.
It came after a team of American farm officials visited 11 exporters in France to check safety standards.
But French farms minister Herve Gaymard has said that food standards in France are higher than in the US.
'Higher standards'
"Our reaction is obviously not to be happy," said Mr Gaymard.
"We can't understand this decision because in Europe, and in France, we have the highest safety standards for exports in the world, and moreover higher than the United States," he added.
Mr Gaymard has said he wants to see the export of French meat products to the US restart "as soon as possible" and is hoping negotiations can achieve this.
Mr Gaymard took a last-minute trip to Washington on Monday to present the steps taken by French firms to comply with specific US standards.
"The Americans had already made their decision," Mr Gaymard told journalists on Wednesday.
European Union farm ministers will discuss the US move when they meet in March, according to EU health commissioner David Byrne.
The ban is for one month initially, but if it were to be extended it could damage trade worth more than 20m euros ($25m; £13.3m) annually, according to EU estimates.
'No retaliation'
The visit to France by the US Department of Agriculture team took place between 15 January and 5 February.
In addition to inspecting the 11 French firms licensed to export foie gras and other processed meat products to the US it toured the veterinary services that supervise the companies.
US agriculture officials have denied that the ban was in retaliation for an EU-wide block on US poultry and egg imports after a bird flu outbreak in Texas.
US Agriculture Department spokesman Steven Cohen said the visit to France was in response to concerns first raised in 1992. The US had found "repeated problems" with the 11 exporters, he said.
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: france
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To: Indy Pendance
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator
To: Indy Pendance
Le boo hoo!
4
posted on
02/25/2004 1:38:07 PM PST
by
grellis
(Che cosa ha mangiato?)
To: grellis
when ever I think of foie gras, and how they make it, I think of the last meal I shared with my ex-wife.
5
posted on
02/25/2004 1:40:16 PM PST
by
donmeaker
(Duty is the most sublime word in the English language.)
To: Indy Pendance
BTW, isn't foie gras created by force-feeding ducks several times/day until their livers are ten times normal size? Why isn't PETA setting up headquarters over in Paris and bothering them instead of "freeing" mink on U.S. farms?
To: grellis
Le boo hoo! Just think of how upset they'll be when we put up barriers against the importation of cheese that smells like people's feet...
7
posted on
02/25/2004 1:46:09 PM PST
by
jscd3
To: Indy Pendance
"Our reaction is obviously not to be happy" obviously
To: Indy Pendance
Isn't Bush just being vindictive here? The only family in the US that buys this way overpriced, elitist meat stuff is that French looking guy Kerry. Bush has started sticking it to the multimillionaire playboy.
9
posted on
02/25/2004 1:54:07 PM PST
by
Tacis
To: grellis
Le boo hoo! LOL. I had food in my mouth!
To: Indy Pendance
Ah, zes, the famous squeal of the french men.... it is so often heard these days.... squeal piggy-piggy, squeal piggy-piggy. Little piggy french, piggy, piggy, can't handle it when the US tells you to go stuff cordon bleu.... little piggies, poor little piggies.
11
posted on
02/25/2004 2:07:45 PM PST
by
Porterville
(I see you (o)(o))
To: Indy Pendance
Ooooohhhh... The french are angry!!! I'm scared!!!!
12
posted on
02/25/2004 2:11:48 PM PST
by
aomagrat
To: jscd3
You don't have a foot fetish, apparently. lol
13
posted on
02/25/2004 2:21:34 PM PST
by
rock58seg
(Broken Glass Conservative, I'll even vote for a moderate if he's the most conservative candidate.)
To: Indy Pendance
Who cares about goose liver anyway! Yuk!!
To: anniegetyourgun
BTW, isn't foie gras created by force-feeding ducks several times/day until their livers are ten times normal size? Yes. The force-feeding:
The result - normal gooseliver left, force-fed right:
To: DonaldDuke
Disgusting. I love ducks.
To: DonaldDuke
The one on the right looks like a tumor from a block of Velveeta.
17
posted on
02/25/2004 2:27:30 PM PST
by
Petronski
(John Kerry looks like . . . like . . . weakness.)
To: DonaldDuke
I learn something new each and every day at FreeRepublic.com
To: Indy Pendance
I LOVE Foi Gras with a glass of Alsatian Riesling.
19
posted on
02/25/2004 2:33:16 PM PST
by
Celantro
To: Indy Pendance
Personally, I love foie gras. Fortunately, it also comes from New York state and Canada, so I don't have to go cold turkey (or should that be.... wait for it.... Cold Duck? [insert rimshot]).
Incidentally, both duck and goose foie gras is available, with the duck kind being a bit easier to find in my area. I love to eat it along with politically incorrect French wine while I read my Wall Street Journal and contemplate oppressing the lower classes. Ah, capitalism!
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