ATTEMPTS should not be made to play down the actual incidence of BSE in this State, Mr Feargal Quinn (Ind) said. The Department of Agriculture had previously announced cases as they came to light, but some time ago had decided to release the information once a month. "That didn't fool anyone, but what it did was to lower the level of trust in the Department on the part of the general public. They felt the Department was acting in the interests of the farmers, not in their interests as consumers.
"My attitude is that anything that increases the level of information available to customers is a good thing, and in the long-term interests of the food industry," added Mr Quinn, who was speaking in the debate on the annual report of An Bord Bia.