High Peak Liberal Democrats

Bill Newton Dunn, Liberal Democrat MEP for the East Midlands, points out that the recent "jam-jar scare stories" are nothing but unchecked accounts by the media.

The 2004 EC regulation which was established to protect consumers from the migration of materials that may be used in the manufacture of containers used to store food, does not ban the re-use of jam jars. The EU regulation, which not only concerns the food packaging but also the production process which is used to create it, aims to ensure hygiene is kept to a good standard.

The EU Food Standards Agency has confirmed today that since 2004 there have been no new developments to this legislation, and that it is not aware of any evidence that reusing jam jars presents a food safety concern for consumers. The FSA states that it is for Local Authorities to decide how they enforce the rules with respect to charities and organisations who may sell jam, and they are not aware of any prosecutions to date for re-using jam jars.

Bill Newton Dunn comments:

"If good hygiene is observed in cleaning jars during food preparation then there should be no problem with people selling jam in reused jars."

"I have no clue where these scare stories have originated but the Women's Institute reported them as gospel, and now we can all be sure that no one will be getting a £5000 fine when selling their home made jam."

For more details contact Bill on 07939250473

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