European food regulators make asses of themselves again.

Of course, it would be illegal to pass off one sort of meat as another, but this post is not about false labelling.

This time, the European Union wanted to ban olive oil jugs and dipping bowls from restaurant tables, replacing these traditional offerings with sealed, pre-packaged containers of oil.
See:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/10064787/EU-to-ban-olive-oil-jugs-from-restaurants.html

Not surprisingly, this has caused some negative comment from restaurateurs, producers, food writers and some politicians, including the British Prime Minister, who made a painful word play, saying that this measure "Shouldn't even be on the table".

Apparently, the EU now says that the measure will be rescinded, but I suspect we have not heard the end of it, as major olive oil producers, including Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal, supported the measure, and farmer lobby groups have vowed to fight on.
See:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/world/europe/european-commission-tables-olive-oil-rule.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1&


Odd spot:  if you want to read some more of the EU shenanigans, have a look at the definition of 'strawberry'.  I've read that bananas, cucumbers and Cornish Pasties have also had a troubled time in the regulations.