Czech goat’s cheese “tested on humans”
In the Czech Republic two farmers have come up with a unique way to overcome EU regualtions that they say are threatening their livelihood.
Petr Hajek and Pavel Stepanek are from the southern Bohemia region and used to make a fairly decent living and business from selling their own family recipe goats’ cheese. However after joining the European Union on 1 May this has become a great deal more difficult as they are no not able to meet the strict hygine and other standards for it’s manufactuer and therefore prevented from selling the cheese for humans.
“If I wanted to sell goats’ cheese to people officially” said Mr. Hajek to the Czech newspaper Lidove Noviny, “I would have to invest at least 3m Czech crowns (€95000) in installing farm hygiene equipment here”
“Where would I find that kind of money?”
But Mr Hajek has come up with a clever solution to the problem. He is now selling the cheese as animal food.
He told the newspaper that he has had to put a large notice on his door to avoid being fined for breakng EU regulations.
The notice reads: “Goats’ cheese. Home-made to a family recipe handed down through six generations. Completely in violation of EU regulations, should be used as animal food. Tested on humans.”
Mr Hajek says the notice is a protest against the mythical Brussels bureaucracy and the behaviour of what he believes is the “holier-than-thou” Czech officials.
“All this is just bias towards mass producers and globalisation at the expense of small farmers,” he said.
So far he insists he has had no complaints from his customers. “I make goats’ cheese the same way as dozens of my ancestors, and it never made any of them even slightly queasy.”
