South East MEP casts key vote against 'Meat Glue'
May 20, 2010 11:30 AM
Originally published by Sharon Bowles MEP
Originally published by Sharon Bowles MEP
Sharon Bowles MEP at Cuckfield Farm in West Sussex
A South East MEP has cast the key vote to reject a bid by the food industry to use 'meat glue' to enable meat from different sources to be stuck together in products.
Liberal Democrat MEP Sharon Bowles says that she was not satisfied that consumers would be told the whole truth about what they were being invited to buy.
The proposal to authorise the use of an enzyme preparation based on thrombin was this week rejected by MEPs in the European Parliament by just one vote.
The decision came despite assurances from EU health commissioner John Dalli that the product was safe and its use would be clearly labelled.
Thrombin is a natural material made from the blood of cattle or pigs that has been used for centuries.
However, the food industry wants to use the enzyme preparation made from it to bind together separate meat pieces to produce products with a uniform shape and thickness.
The glue could also be used to bind together small pieces of beef into a new size that might appear like fillet steak.
Sharon Bowles said:
"The meat industry often prepares meat in ways that consumers might find unappetising but many people will think that the use of 'meat glue' is a step too far.
"While it is clear that the health risks of 'meat glue' are minimal, if products consist of meat from different sources glued together, consumers should be told in the clearest possible terms.
"In my opinion, steaks that have been glued together from composite bits of meat are a crime against gastronomy."
ENDS
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