Draft EU regulations pertaining to fish processing unfairly favor competitors in France and other countries compared to Polish salmon processors — according to Polish industry, the parliamentarians who represent them in Brussels, and even Norwegian exporters that supply the raw material for Poland’s largest seafood export.
The proposed regulations govern the stiffening time for meat and the maximum temperature ranges during the cutting process – rules designed to block the bacteria listeria, a dangerous infection, especially for pregnant women and others with weakened immune systems. In the case of salmon, the stiffening time could be 96 hours and the temperature could be -3 degrees C, which Poland argues is so different from current Polish industry practice that competitors will be able to operate at lower cost and threaten the viability of Polish processed salmon throughout the European market.
Currently, Polish processors freeze their fish to-4 to -7 degrees C before slicing it, which helps give their product its famous reputation for quality. If other countries can cut their fish at higher temperatures, it is argued, Poland’s advantage will be lost.
Of greater concern, however, is Poland’s complaint of secrecy in the EU legislative process. “The act carried out in a certain silence and lack of transparency will be the subject of debate in the EP, “ stated Polish MEP Anna Fotyga. We are dealing with a not entirely clean competitive fight on the part of producers representing other Member States, she emphasized, adding that in this area, Polish MPs from various factions work beyond political divisions to defend the interests of our country. Fotyga and other parliamentarians allege that scientific studies do not back up the rule changes and point out that a minuscule number of listeria cases (2 out of 144 cases since 2018) originate from Polish processing plants.
Further investigation into the role of scientific studies and into the question of whether or not Polish parliamentarians were kept in the dark during development of the legislation will be continuing, officials said.