Bryans speaks out against mixed messages
Dairy UK’s chief executive Judith Bryans says that information about dairy products is often misleading and ill-informed and urged members of the UK Parliament to support the cheese and dairy industry in a consistent way. Speaking at the All Party Parliamentary Cheese Group Reception in London on Wednesday, she said, “The dairy industry takes the nutritional integrity, safety and environmental impact of its products very seriously. It strives and succeeds to push boundaries in innovation and it¹s a confident and vibrant sector. The mixed signals coming from Government departments lead to confusion and create uncertainty as to how the dairy sector should be developing new markets and promoting growth.
“Dairy UK believes that asking the industry to grow on the one hand and knocking the nutritional benefits of much loved products like cheese and yogurt, with their age-old traditions in the UK, on the other, it sends mixed signals to the industry about government support.
“The dairy sector is therefore urging politicians and civil servants to voice their support for dairy and help educate consumers about the unique contribution that cheese and other dairy products make to health the economy and the environment.”
Cheese continues to be well-loved by the British public, Dr Bryans observes. “We have received overwhelming support from the British public for the Great British Food that is cheese. However more visibility and a stronger support is needed from our politicians for the dairy industry and showing how dairy makes a difference.”
Dairy UK will shortly be launching an initiative called Dairy Makes a Difference, which aims to showcase different aspects of the dairy industry. “The Dairy Makes a Difference initiative aims to show the public how dairy provides them with a wide range of nutritious foods including milk, cheese and yogurt,” Dr Bryans says. “Dairy makes a difference as a major industry employing around 25,000 thousand people in the processing and manufacturing sectors with many thousands more involved with dairy farming. Dairy makes a difference as an environmentally responsible industry which is committed to sustainability.”
In other news, Dan Rogerson, MP for North Cornwall has stepped down as chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Cheese, and Lord Jones of Cheltenham will be taking over as chair.
