Bombay Duck bounces back

The Indian fish delicacy is sun-dried

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."