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Food worth £10 million binned due to fears of ‘contamination’ by migrants

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Food worth £10 million binned due to fears of ‘contamination’ by migrants
Shops dump ‘unsafe’ fresh fruit and vegetables from Calais amid ongoing security concerns, freight industry claims

By Luke Heighton

Fruit and vegetables worth £10million have been thrown away since the start of the year due to “contamination” fears caused by stowaways breaking into lorries bound for Britain.

Up to £2 million pounds is lost each week as suppliers are forced to dump perishable goods amid worsening levels of security at the port of Calais, freight bosses claimed.

Shops and distributors are rejecting fresh goods amid concerns groups of migrants hidden inside heavy goods vehicles could render them unsafe to eat, they said.

A migrant jumps in a lorry during a failed attempt to cross the English Channel, in Calais, northern France

A migrant jumps in a lorry during a failed attempt to cross the English Channel, in Calais, northern France  Photo: Michel Spingler/AP

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has now written to the mayor of Calais to call for a campaign to tackle the deteriorating situation around migrant camps.

Some 3,000 migrants from countries including Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia and Syria currently live in makeshift camps close to the French port.

The British government has promised £12 million to help tackle the problem of poor security at the busy Channel crossing over the next three years.

However FTA deputy chief executive James Hookham has held talks with the Home Office, as it was revealed drivers are taking 100-mile detours in order to avoid the port.

A boy looks confused as gendarmes round up and evict migrants. Raids were carried out on camps near Paris and Calais (AFP)

Almost a third of Britain’s fresh produce comes from mainland Europe.

But Mr Hookham told The Times: “We have some lorries being surrounded by dozens, if not hundreds, of people, trying locks, attempting to get into containers, stowing themselves underneath or even slitting open curtain-sided vehicles to get in. It’s chaos.”

However Nigel Jenney of the Fresh Produce Consortium said leading hauliers from Spain and France were now “doing their best to avoid Calais”, as the situation got “increasingly worse”.

He added: “It is becoming increasingly prevalent.

“In the last six months we estimate costs to the industry of products alone of £10 million.

“It is fresh produce, it’s for immediate consumption and not packaged in a way that makes the product totally sealed, and therefore if you have people in the back there is a risk of contamination”.

A migrant stands next to a dwelling with a sign reading "this is not a housing solution" at "the jungle", a makeshift tent village in Calais, northern France

A migrant stands next to a dwelling with a sign reading "this is not a housing solution" at "the jungle", a makeshift tent village in Calais, northern France  Photo: AFP

Immigration minister James Brokenshire said security in and around Calais was responsibility of the French government, but that Britain was working closely with local authorities to improve the situation.

“It is in all our interests to combat this type of criminality which damages the haulage industry financially and puts the safety of drivers at risk,” he said.

Mr Brokenshire’s remarks came as Tim Waggot, chief executive of the Port of Dover, called the 2.5 million freight vehicles that pass between Calais and Dover each year the “lifeblood of our economy”.

He said operators deserved to be able to go about their business safely, but insisted: “They choose top come via sea to Dover and Eurotunnel on this key European corridor because it is simply the quickest, most efficient and cost-effective way for trade to move.

“Factoring in the ‘just-in-time’ nature of the deliveries as well as driving hours, most hauliers and their consignments will be committed to this route”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11672643/Food-worth-10-million-binned-due-to-fears-of-contamination-by-migrants.html

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