MPs Condemn 'Unacceptable' EU Regulation On Jam Jars

MPs Put EU In A Jam Over 'Unacceptable' Jar Regulation

With two-thirds of the country supporting an EU referendum for the UK, eurosceptic MPs may have hit the tipping point in their fight against the heavy-handed, iron grip of the EU.

Six MPs have put forward an early day motion condemned the latest example of Brussels oppression - a recent regulation against reusing jam jars for homemade preserves.

Jeffery Donaldson, Dr William McCrea, Jim Shannon and David Simpson of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, as well as Tory Peter Bottomley and Labour's Kelvin Hopkins each signed the motion this week. It read:

Early Day Motion 590 -

That this House condemns the EU health and safety regulation that will prevent the reuse of jam jars for preserves, chutney and jam; and calls on the Government to inform the EU that such rules are totally unacceptable and will not be adhered to.

The motion stems from a circular sent by the Churches' Legislation Advisory Service (CLAS), which warned its followers that concerns over the hygiene of unsterilised jam jars from the EU meant jam-sellers should avoid selling their homemade jam in recycled containers.

Speaking on the regulation, deputy leader of Ukip, Paul Nuttall, asked: "Can you believe you could actually be flung in jail for six months for selling your home made preserves in a previously used jam jar? And this at a time when re-cycling is driving so much of the onerous Green agenda which is leading to crippling energy costs."

However, Nuttall's fears should be somewhat quelled by CLAS's own secretary, Frank Cranmer, who noted: "The likelihood of anyone being prosecuted now looks extremely remote, even if it remains a technical possibility.”

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