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Market alert for French traders

The continental weekend markets have become a big hit with local shoppers since French stallholders started touring the country earlier this year. But trading standards officials have expressed concern that the baguettes, cheeses, and fresh fruit and vegetables are not being sold in accordance with UK regulations.

Now stall holders are being issued with a bilingual guide to local laws - and warned to play fair or risk being sent packing to France.

The Gallic markets have visited towns and cities across England from Lee on Solent in Hampshire to Sheffield, South Yorkshire and are set to keep touring well into the autumn. Organisers said they had proved a huge hit with shoppers who were able to stock up on their favourite continental delicacies without having to cross the Channel.

Cheese sellers are being urged to make sure their bries and Camemberts are stored at the right temperature in transit and to take extra care with oysters, salamis, sausages, creme caramels and flans.

Fruit and vegetable sellers are being advised not to ditch pounds and ounces completely in favour of kilos - at least until the end of the year when new regulations will bring the UK in line with the rest of Europe.

Trading standards staff are also spot-checking that weights and scales are accurate, and that all produce is labelled "intelligibly" in English with a list of ingredients and details of where it comes from.

The guide also sets out to stallholders how to write prices in English, using decimal points rather than commas for prices such as £1.50 and advises anyone selling clothes to have a handy conversion chart so people do not get caught out by the difference between continental and British sizes.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: "These markets are very popular and we certainly don't want to stop them. But customers wouldn't stay happy if they caught food poisoning from some food which hadn't been stored properly or bought electrical goods which turned out to be dangerous."

Internet Links

The Institute of Trading Standards Administration
Recipe for French Market Soup

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