Sir, - As one who enjoys a steak, be it beef or salmon, the recent assurances from farm representatives on behalf of their associations are to be welcomed. However, recent convict ions remind us that our blind trust can be abused by a minority of rogue farmers.
Sooner or later, the farmers must realise that they produced food for the end user/eater not for the dealers. It would be fair to expect radical new measures on how leaders in the Irish Farm Centre will restore consumer confidence. These leaders have always been successful in getting the very best for their farmers in terms of EU and state grants, a portion of which goes to the lobbyists to extract even more.
I would welcome the Government initiative to transfer responsibility for food to the Department of Health. It is high time that the interests of the food eater were given priority over any others through an independent consumer body, with sufficient powers to guarantee us and our valuable export customer the healthiest food produced in a safe, clean environment. - Yours, etc..
(Salmon and beef-eater), Carrick, Co Donegal.