There is a well known saying, 'no pain, no gain' and that will be ringing true in the minds of Milk Link’s 1,600 producers, who are on the brink of reaping just reward for 12 years of loyalty and investment.Open farms could face tough new rules
FARMERS opening their gates to the public could face tough new rules when the Health Protection Agency (HPA) publishes its report into the E. coli outbreak on a farm in Surrey last year.
The report, led by Professor Paul Griffin, follows the E. coli outbreak at Godstone Farm which saw 92 people infected with the potentially deadly 0157 strain of the bacteria.
Recommendations are expected to be published in this week and there are growing fears any increase in the amount of regulation could force many farmers to close their gates to the general public.
UPDATE:
Prof. Griffin has now delivered his report, making a series of reccommendations to the HPA and calling for a shake up of the rules surrounding open farms. Read the full story here
The news will come as a blow following Open Farm Sunday over the weekend which saw thousands of farms up and down the country open their gates to the public.
Meanwhile, the farm at the centre of last year’s outbreak is being sued for damages by the victims who contracted the deadly strain of the virus.
Lawyers representing 28 of the families involved confirmed they would be seeking damages from Godstone Farm.
Jill Greenfield from Field Fischer Waterhouse told the Daily Telegraph: “Our primary goal is to establish how this happened and our second is about the needs of those affected. Some of them may need a lifetime of financial support.”
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Readers' comments (5)
Roger Thomas | 15 June 2010 12:29 pm
Forty years ago the farm on which I worked on the outskirts of London welcomed many school children. No facilities of any type were available and emergency trips to the toilet could be made to the house, otherwise there was a hedge. Tea and buns were supplied without handwashing. (Today, rightly unacceptable). The point is we, and other farms also accepting school children did not apparently have any problems with E. coli.
Have we lost immunity and resistance to bugs of all types through being too clean?
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john applegarth | 15 June 2010 12:51 pm
I agree with the previous comment.
I farm free range hens for eggs. We sell the majority of our eggs direct to end users and we have a policy of openess and visibility about the way we farm. Visitors are welcome and they always will be, I will stand firm, common sense must prevail about this.
Myself and members of my family have regular close contact with chicken faeces, there is actually every likelihood that faecal material frequently makes it into my mouth -I wipe my face with my hands and I don't always wash or change clothes before eating after being out amongst the birds. Our bodies are evolved to deal with these things. The risks of illness are small but the loss to society when we run scared from nature is imeasureably great.
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bruce gilbert | 15 June 2010 1:14 pm
this is just another example of the world going mad ,just as the public is starting to understand us the hse plans to pull the rug .I thought we were to have less red tape not more!!!
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David Vinter | 15 June 2010 1:55 pm
Before 1860 more than half the UK population lived in villages. Since then we have had ever greater urbanisation of the population. For what it's worth Ithink that in may be increasingly dangerous for inner city children to visit farms, as every generation seems to lose more and more the natural immunity to disease which country bred chidren
just have. After all, did the farm workers go down with the disease?.I well remember when as a farm lad I had a 'heaf test for TB' in my first month at Nottingham University, the doctor was amazed at my natual immunity. If this is the case insurance policies will need checking, will any farm visitor be covered against infection? Or are visitors to be banned?
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anom | 15 June 2010 8:37 pm
I think children of todays generation lack the immunity to viruses and bacteria that the previous generations had immunity to because many people are obsest with cleaniness.Playing in dirt didn't do me any harm. Infact when I leave the farm and venture into the cities I always seem to return home with a cold!!!
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