In response to the Consumers’ Association call for food premises licensing the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said:


“FDF welcomes any initiative to promote and ensure food hygiene throughout the food chain.  However, it is important not to make any licensing scheme overly bureaucratic.  The food industry spends millions of pounds on food safety ? we must avoid penalising the good to eradicate the bad.”


In response to the EU ‘lumpy sauce’ issue:


“It is daft to categorise a product by the number of lumps it contains, and barriers to trade do no one any good.  What is worse:  no one has even thought to consult the industry about this proposal.  Processed food is the EU’s fastest growing export, the industry employs 500,000 people in the UK alone and is vital to the economy.  Consumers like chunks of vegetable in their sauces ? the market is growing by 15% every year.  Why should the industry be hindered in giving consumers what they want?”