Saucy Brussels

We noted in our previous issue of the Omega Times that
with the Euro being introduced to Europe, the countries under its power are now
waiting with anticipation to find out which other laws are going to be
introduced, which will bring them further into bondage.

An article in The Dominion newspaper, January 16,
2002, reads: "...A spectacularly obscure EU body has met in Brussels to decide
just how many lumps a sauce can contain before it ceases to be classified as a
sauce and is regarded officially as a vegetable.

The issue is infuriating sauce manufacturers. One pointed
out: 'Most people can tell the difference between tinned carrots and a gourmet
pasta sauce.'...

For multinational food producers such as Nestle, Heinz, Mars
and Unilever, tariff differences mean that huge sums of money rest on the
decision of the...sub-committee of the EU's Customs Code Committee. The annual
amount could be NZ$190 million.

The EU's maximum 'lump limit' is set at 20 per cent. This
was originated to stop importers avoiding high tariffs on vegetables by
disguising them as sauces...

Put simply, that means that a tinned sauce does not qualify
as a sauce if it is more than one-fifth lumps....

To add to the problem even a sauce containing meat can be
classed as a vegetable if the meat content is less than about 18 per cent....

As an industry source says: 'Brussels can like it or lump
it, but we won't give up until common sense prevails.'..." (emphasis
added).

This sort of argument is simply the thin end of the wedge and
readers should look forward to further foolishness as rules are made to bring
everybody within the Union into line.