Introduction to CIAA

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Introduction to CIAA Copenhagen, 14-15
December 2006
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Overview

• Introduction to CIAA
• Obligations of Food and Feed Business operators
• How does CIAA operate?
• Some case studies
• Acrylamide
• Benzene
• Substances migrating from packaging
• Lessons learned from the case studies
• The CIAA incident team
• Conclusions

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CIAA Role and Mission

• Represents the interests of the European food and
  drink industries
• Contributes to the creation of the most
  favourable economic and legislative environment
  possible for the development of the food and
  drink industry
• Promotes the image of a dynamic and responsible
  industry
• Acts as the voice of European food and drink
  companies

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CIAA Members

• COUNTRIES
• 25 National Food Industry Federations
• Including 3 observers from Norway, Romania
  Turkey
• SECTORS
• 32 European Sector Associations
• COMPANIES
• 22 major companies producing in the EU

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Obligations of Food and Feed Business Operators

• Safety
• Responsibility
• Traceability
• Transparency
• Emergency
• Prevention
• Co-operation
• OF FOOD AND FEED BUSINESS
• OPERATORS

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Emerging risks what are we talking about?

• Definition of emerging risk A potential food-
  or feed-borne or diet-related hazard that may
  become a risk for human health in the (near)
  future.
• Emerging risks can result from three different
  types of hazards, such as
• An unidentified new form of a known hazard (e.g.
  unidentified mycotoxin, avian influenza?)
• A hazard which is not well-known at the time of
  its appearance in food (e.g. acrylamide)
• A well-known re-emerging hazard (e.g.
  Brucellosis).
• Excluded are
• Unidentified hazards of which nothing is known
• Well-characterised hazards which are currently
  controlled.

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The Holistic View
Food Chain
Consumer Behaviour
Information
Public Health Welfare
Culture Demography
Economy
Agriculture
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How does CIAA operate?

• SCIENCE
• FSM (Food Safety Mgt)
• Crisis/incident Mgt ad hoc Working Group
• CONT (Contaminants)
• Undesirable heat-treated process substances
  technical Working Group
• INGR (Ingredients)
• REACH ad hoc Working Group
• HYG (Hygiene)
• NORM (Int.Standards)
• NOVF (Novel Foods)/GMOs
• MAT (Food Contact Materials)
• FEED
• RD (Research)
• Various consumer information Working Groups

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Case Study - Acrylamide
24 April 2002

• Not a new risk new discovery
• Industry wishes to play a role
• Long-term issue
• Global impact
• Does not only affect processed foods
• Should not become a competitive issue
• Need collective stakeholder approach

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Case Study - Acrylamide

• Contains Four Sections
• Variety Selection
• Storage Management
• Process Management
• Final Preparation

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Case Study - Acrylamide

• Natural parameters
• e.g. agronomic factors and biological and
  chemical parameters of crops bulk ingredients
• Product composition
• e.g. changes in recipes
• Process conditions
• e.g. thermal input or pre-treatment of product
  or ingredients
• Finished product characteristics
• e.g. colour, moisture, taste, shelf-life

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Case Study Benzene in Soft Drinks

• The formation of benzene can occur when ascorbic
  acid and sodium benzoate react together under
  certain conditions
• The industry has been working to eliminate or at
  least minimise trace benzene formation through a
  variety of approaches
• Industy continues to closely monitor the
  situation
• The levels of benzene found in some beverages
  represent a negligible amount compared to the
  overall benzene intakes from environmental
  sources, and even from other foods
• The levels of benzene found in soft drinks do not
  pose health concerns.

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Case Study Benzene in Soft Drinks

• RECOMMENDATION 1 REVIEWBeverage companies to
  review their existing products and new
  formulations considering the known information
  relative to procedures for the prevention /
  minimisation of benzene formation.
• RECOMMENDATION 2 TESTBeverage companies to
  perform analytical sampling of appropriate
  products for benzene through accelerated storage
  tests
• RECOMMENDATION 3 REFORMULATEBeverage companies
  to reformulate affected products in which benzene
  may be present, to eliminate or reduce benzene
  formation to the fullest extent possible.
• RECOMMENDATION 4 MONITOR POST-LAUNCH

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Case Study - Migrating Substances from Packaging

• ITX in a liquid food package triggered a rapid
  alert to all Member States in Week 37, 2005
• The Commissions Standing Committee on the Food
  Chain and Animal Health, toxicology section, met
  on 30 November, 2005 to assess the situation
• On 9th December, well ahead of schedule, EFSA
  issued a final Opinion on ITX, which stated
•  The presence of ITX (2-Isopropylthioxanthone)
  in food, whilst undesirable, does not raise
  health concerns at the levels reported. ITX is a
  substance which has been found in minute
  quantities in liquid baby milk and other products
  packaged in cartons.
• Tetra Pak committed itself to phasing out the use
  of this substance in packaging for milk, fatty
  liquids and juices by the end of January

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Case Study - Migrating Substances from Packaging

• At the initiative of CIAA, a joint industry
  Working Group (ad hoc Group) comprising the FD,
  packaging and ink industries, and led by the
  packaging industry, was launched in January 2006

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Lessons to be learned

• Maintain consumers trust both in the food
  industry and in the authorities
• Preserve trust between the food industry and the
  authorities
• Maintain confidence in company brands
• Minimise economic implications for companies and
  society at large
• Perform an initial risk assessment either alone
  or with other concerned partners of the
  chain     
• To create a high level ad hoc emergency /crisis
  Working Group

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The Management of Risks The CIAA Perspective

• CIAA has established a crisis team which is
  prepared to react within 48 hours, but which does
  not replace the responsiblities of individual
  companies.
• This team will
• 1) Analyse emerging issues by considering
• The nature of the issue
• Industry risk assessment
• Industry risk management proposals and/or steps
  taken
• Discussion and analysis of risk management
  decisions/options
• 2) Communicate
• With national incident groups and establish
  procedures for sharing information
• With media, stakeholders and other concerned
  parties

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The Management of Risks The CIAA Perspective

• The food and drink industry is prepared to
  provide any support to risk managers to either
  prevent issues or to solve emerging issues
  related to the following as quickly as possible
• A food safety risk
• An emerging issue limited data / no specific
  regulation
• A significant consumer/media perceived risk
• In situations where a food company becomes aware
  of new information which may affect the safety of
  its products, it shall perform an initial risk
  assessment, either alone or with other affected
  partners of the chain gt coordinated approach
• Affected companies will take prompt action and,
  where relevant, in a manner consistent with the
  modus operandi (chemical substances) recently
  published by DG SANCO
• Need for coordinated approach between Commission
  and MS

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Conclusions

• Early and adequate use of all relevant
  information or signals about what could be an
  emerging risk is all important
• Early evaluation of the hazard and of the
  exposure, including remediation of gaps in
  knowledge, should be carried out. Ideally, an
  emotional climate should not be allowed to
  influence the evaluation
• Informing media and public in a timely manner is
  essential
• Early evaluation of the case to be carried out in
  a way that facilitates a clear understanding of
  the problem
• Communication and co-ordination between all
  parties concerned should be fair and complete
• Resources devoted to emerging risks to be based
  on an appropriate risk/benefit analysis.

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Where to find more information about CIAA
CIAA Public Websitehttp//www.ciaa.be Access
to news and positions
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• THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION