eurealist.co.uk

I was listening to Gardeners Question Time on the BBC this week, one reply was; that although a weak solution of soft soap sprayed onto roses would get rid of an aphids, as soft soap was not an EU recognised insecticide its use would be illegal.

This is one of the problems we face with EU regulations, because it turns upside down our basic English Common Law concept that anything is legal unless there is a law against it. Instead we have a situation that it is not legal unless the EU says it is. But I suppose you could always use the soft soap to wash your roses, that would be legal.

This weeks news that the EU Commision bans 22 hair dye ingredients is a case in point, the Commission had asked manufacturers to provide safety files for their substances. The industry failed to submit any safety files for the 22 ingredients, probably because they do not use them. There is no evidence to suggest that these ingredients are not safe, yet they are now banned. Just as there is no evidence to suggest that using soft soap as an insecticide is harmful.