Dear Ms Brown
Mmmm… as the packet says- Britain’s No 1 lasagne. Giddy up!
Let’s have a look at the title of the Agency that you are boss of: Foods Standards Agency.
Food. That’s what we all need to survive. We no longer have to go out with bows and arrows to drive woolly mammoths over cliffs to survive. We go to shops and supermarkets to get our food. We have no idea who the farmer or who the butcher is. Ms Brown, we rely on you.
Standards. That’s a word that means quality. We look to you and the outfit you lead to provide us with the reassurance that what we eat is wholesome, nutritional and is what it says on the packet or the box. Who checks on your standard Ms Brown? Me? Parliament? A higher authority? God?
Agency. That means, that I pay your wages. Me and millions of other taxpayers. We pay you to perform to a standard (see above). What happens if you fail to meet that standard? It seems that you just carry on. Oh great.
As chief executive of the FSA, you said: 'Following our investigations into Findus products, the FSA is now requiring a more robust response from the food industry in order to demonstrate that the food it sells and serves is what it says it is on the label. We are demanding that food businesses conduct authenticity tests on all beef products, such as beef burgers, meatballs and lasagne, and provide the results to the FSA. The tests will be for the presence of significant levels of horse meat.'
Too little too late. What were you doing when the story about horsemeat in Tesco Burgers broke a few weeks ago? Counting your income? Don’t get me wrong, I love good quality horsemeat. It is only the English who have a problem with eating it. They prefer riding it and killing foxes. But I do believe that what it says on the tin is what it is. Beef is not horsemeat. This has been going on for years and what have you and your lame outfit been doing?
What makes me laugh out loud is that you say that some of the Findus samples consisted of between 60 and 100% horsemeat, but added there was no evidence it was a food safety risk.
You and yours have no idea what chemicals are put into horses. You are clearly trying to damp the issue down and minimise panic. Fine. But you have no facts to support your statement. Horses, whether bred for racing, farm-work, or even food, have no regulations regarding what they can be given in the way of supplements. You are whistling in the dark Ms Brown: You described the situation as appalling and said it seemed likely to have happened through deliberate fraud or other criminal activity, rather than mistaken contamination. Brilliant. So have you reported matters to the Police? What were you doing about this before the story broke?
Do the decent thing. Resign. You know you cocked up big time. Or is your salary or your ego too big?
