[BITList] Bombay Duck bounces back.

[John Feltham]

Bombay Duck bounces back

A British businessman has won his battle against a European Union
decision to ban his favourite Indian food.

Bombay Duck had to be struck off the menu at Indian restaurants all
over Europe because the way it was prepared in its country of origin
did not conform to EU hygiene laws.

Businessman David Delaney, from Hereford, embarked on his own
four-year campaign to get the delicacy - which is actually made from
dried fish, not duck - reinstated.

But after petitioning the European Commission, writing to MPs and
setting up a website, his cause was finally saved by the intervention
of the Indian High Commission. Indian officials pressed the EU to
make modifications to the ruling, to allow imports to flow once more.

The problem first arose in 1996 when a batch of seafood imported
from India was found to be infected with salmonella.

The EU subsequently ruled fish imports from India had to be prepared
in approved freezing and canning factories.

Traditional preparation

But the traditional way of preparing the north-west Indian delicacy,
which is made from dried bummalo fish, is for it to be dried in the
sun on the beach. Many small cottage industries in India were unable
to comply with the EU demands and the trade started to flounder.

Under the new deal, the EU has now adjusted the regulations so
the fish can still be dried in the open air but has to be packed in
an EU-approved packing station.

Mr Delaney, and thousands of other fans of the fishy appetiser,
will again be able to dine on the deep-fried delicacy. At one time
Britons ate their way through 13 tonnes each year. Mr Delaney
said: "For me the ban on Bombay Duck was a ban too far."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1066998.stm





ooroo

If you don't hear the knock of opportunity - build a door.

Anon.



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