Jeopardizing all

   Poland has had many difficulties in recent years in meeting the European Union's (EU) strict quality requirements. The most prominent example of that was the milk conundrum two years ago, when the EU banned all Polish milk imports because it said that many dairy farms used unsanitary processes. It was not until the end of last month that most farmers were reinstated as EU-approved.

   The man in charge of cleaning up that mess – and getting dairy farmers back in the EU's good graces – was Andrzej Komorowski, Poland's chief veterinarian. Komorowski led the charge to re-inspect dairy farms and then made suggestions to the EU as to which were banned needlessly.

   As he has worked to improve quality standards in Polish agriculture, Komorowski has pushed for strict inspections in many industries, from milk production to meat processing. Recently he has worked closely with larger meat procedures to improve their hygienic practices, in turn trying to earn more respect for Polish meat abroad.

   One of the tactics Komorowski has used in his fight is to highlight local corruption. The goal is to put pressure on veterinarians, who in the past have signed off on slaughterhouses or dairy farms that clearly did not meet even Polish standards. Komorowski was at it again last week, after EU inspectors found that a meat processor was operating illegally. The house, the inspectors said, was actually contained inside a legal facility. Komorowski rightly pointed out that local officials had to know about the illegal entity, and did nothing, or were paid to do nothing to stop it.

   The fact that the operation existed "was a sign of high disrespect and an example of disregard on the part of local veterinarians," Komorowski said last week. He also assured EU delegates that Poland would shut down the processor as soon as possible, trying to avoid a repeat of the milk debacle.

   Komorowski should be praised for his efforts. As Poland tries to restructure its agriculture sector, exports will become increasingly important to local producers. Those exports, however, will not materialize if the quality and safety of Polish products are routinely questioned.

   Komorowski should continue his fight to bring local veterinarians into line and make enforcement of Polish standards the norm. Otherwise, producers will be constantly threatened with the possibility of a complete ban on their products, because the EU has so little faith in the country's enforcement efforts. Only aggressive oversight will improve Poland's reputation in this area.