EUROPEAN COMMISSION

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Experiences and remaining challenges in food
safety

• ECPA Annual conference
• Patricia Brunko
• 21/10/2004

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Chemical safety of food
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New legislative framework
Food law Basic horizontal principles

• High level of protection of human life and
  consumer interests
• Free movement of food and feed
• Risk analysis
• Precautionary principle
• Responsibility of operators
• Traceability
• Public consultation

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Scope of food law

• Covers all types of food
• Covers the whole food production chain including
  primary production
• Covers feed for food producing animals

a single Regulatory Committee Standing Committe
on the Food Chain and Animal Health
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Risk analysis

• Risk assessment
• Risk management
• Risk communication

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Precautionary principle
Evaluation of available information indicates
possibility of harmful effects on health but
scientific uncertainty remains
Provisional risk management measures with
conditions
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Responsibility of operators

• Obligation for companies not to put on the market
  dangerous food or feed
• Responsibility of operators to check their
  production
• Responsibility of operators to recall products
  which are not in conformity with safety
  provisions
• Obligation to inform competent authorities in
  case of risk suspicion

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Traceability

• Applies to food, feed, food producing animals and
  any other substances intended to be incorporated
  into food or feed
• At all steps of the food chain
• Identification systems and procedures

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Transparency Public consultation

• Advisory Group on the food chain and animal and
  plant health
• (Commission Decision 2004/ 613/ EC)

All issues of food legislation including the
various aspects of plant health, such as plant
protection, plant protection products and their
residues, and including matters pertaining to
industrial property.
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 Hygiene package
HYGIENE 1 GENERAL FOOD HYGIENE
HYGIENE 2 HYGIENE FOOD OF ANIMAL ORIGIN
HYGIENE 3 OFFICIAL CONTROLS FOOD
OF ANIMAL ORIGIN
HYGIENE 4 ANIMAL HEALTH RULES FOOD OF
ANIMAL ORIGIN
HYGIENE 5 REPEAL OF 17 DIRECTIVES
DIRECTIVE 2002/99/EC
REGULATION EC No 852/2004
REGULATION EC No 853/2004
REGULATION EC No 854/2004
DIRECTIVE 2004/41
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Food hygieneBasic principles

• Simplification
• Single framework for all food
• Uniform procedures (e.g. HACCP, imports)
• Filling legal gaps
• Primary production
• Separation of responsibilities
• Prime responsibility with operators
• Competent authority verifies compliance

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Hygiene 1 Regulation 852/2004
Common basis for the hygienic production of all
food

• Farm to table approach
• HACCP principles
• Registration of food businesses
• Guides of good practice

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Hygiene 1 Annex I of Regulation 852/2004

• Scope primary products products of the soil,
  of stock farming or fishing
• Obligation to protect against contamination

Guides to good hygiene practice the correct and
the appropriate use of plant protection products
and biocides and their traceability measures
relating to record-keeping
1
3
to use plant protection products and biocides
correctly, as required by the relevant
legislation
2
to keep records on- any use of plant
protection products or biocides- any occurrence
of pests or diseases that may affect the safety
of products of plant origin
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Official food and feed controlsRegulation
882/2004

• Any form of control by competent authorities in
  the Member States and by the Community
• Verification of compliance with rules to prevent,
  eliminate or reduce risks to humans and animals
  and protect consumer interests

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Official controlsMember States (1)

• On a regular basis and with a frequency based on
  risk
• Without prior warning (as a general rule)
• At any stage of production processing and
  distribution
• Including imports/exports

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Official controlsMember States (2)

• Continuous training of staff
• Documented procedures
• Transparency
• Reports

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Official controlsMember States (3)

• Sampling and analysis
• accredited laboratories
• validated methods
• Community reference laboratories
• national reference laboratories
• possibility to obtain second opinion

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Official controls Community controls in Member
States

• General audit/specific audit or inspection
• to verify implementation of feed/food law
• to verify efficacy and effectiveness of national
  control systems
• to investigate important or recurring problems
  and emergency situations

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Reflection on the future of the Community
Reference Laboratories

• Possibility and usefulness to have a CRL
  dedicated to pesticides?

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Selection of future CRLs

• Specifications
• Criteria for selection
• First calls for interest end 2004
• Selection panel
• Designation by Comitology
• Possible financing and implementation from
  01/01/2006

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Remaining challenges (1)

• Worldwide RASFF
• promote a RASFF to other regions of the world
• (1) help developing countries to set up a
  system equivalent to ours
• (2) interconnect existing systems

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Remaining challenges (2)

• White Paper on Food Safety
• Framework legislation
• (1) Food additives (89/107/EEC)/Enzymes
• (2) Flavourings (88/388/EEC)
• (3) Pesticides (91/414/EEC)

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More information on http//europa.eu.int/comm/
food/index_en.htm
Commission européenne