Farmers' fears over fruit rules

Animals have grazed in orchards for centuries

Fruit growers are warning that new guidelines restricting where sheep and cows can graze could make their orchards financially unviable.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) wants new restrictions because it says animal droppings can contaminate fallen fruit, creating a risk of food poisoning.

The watchdog says new bacteria strains mean even tighter regulation is needed.

But small producers have told the BBC that grazing plays an important role in the management of orchards.

And they argue that the extra costs of having to bring in machinery to replace natural grazing could potentially put them out of business.

Traditional methods

Under new guidelines being sent out for consultation, the FSA wants to stop sheep and cattle grazing in orchards for up to a year before apples and other fruit are harvested.

The move would outlaw a traditional farming system that has been used in the English countryside for centuries, producers say.

Germs are constantly evolving and changing - so what was safe in the past may not remain safe in the future FSA spokeswoman Judith Hilton

Andy Leyton, a farmer from Eardisley in Herefordshire, who keeps up to 800 ewes and three organic orchards, is concerned the plans could ruin his livelihood.

He told BBC Radio 4's Farming Today that fruit farmers already comply with stringent regulations and the grazing process posed no risk to human health.

"Grazing is a benefit to our business and to the orchard," he said.

"If we have to mow - possibly 12 or 13 times a years - that's a huge cost in diesel and it's very difficult to get under the trees with modern equipment."

He claims he would either be faced with making a loss with his orchards, or letting the orchards go altogether.

E.coli dangers

The FSA guidelines are due to be reviewed at a meeting next month.

A spokesperson for the FSA told Farming Today that fruit and vegetables are currently responsible for 3% of food poisoning cases and the development of bugs like E.coli mean further precautions would be justified.

But Judith Hilton, a microbiologist for the government watchdog, says there is no question of "bulldozing through" new rules without consultation with farmers, adding that there could well be exceptions.

"In the case of top fruit such as apples, provided that they don't come into contact with the ground there is a case that different rules could apply, and that is something that the group will be looking at."

But she says that changes are needed because traditional washing of fruit is not always enough, and new threats to hygiene are constantly evolving.

"We're facing certain germs that weren't around in the past. E.coli 0157 is we think a new germ developed in the 1970s or 80s.

"It's a severe problem as it survives very well in the soil, probably up to six months after it's been shed by an animal."

"Germs are constantly evolving and changing - so what was safe in the past may not remain safe in the future," she said.