general food law of the eu – amman, 29 november 2010
DESCRIPTION
General Food Law of the EU – Amman, 29 November 2010 Wolf Maier, DG Health and Consumers, EU Commission. The EU Market. The EU is a Success Story Single Market with 500 Million citizens, Economic stability, 70% of trade intra-EU, Harmonisation of rules and standards; The EU is a nightmare - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
General Food Law of the EU – Amman, 29 November 2010Wolf Maier, DG Health and Consumers, EU Commission
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
The EU MarketThe EU is a Success Story
Single Market with 500 Million citizens,
Economic stability, 70% of trade intra-EU,
Harmonisation of rules and standards;
The EU is a nightmare27 countries, 21 Languages,
Diverse traditions expectations and economies,
100.000s food businesses,
By far the biggest importer and exporter of food worldwide;
Risks must be managed.
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
3
How does it work? The main elements
Commitment to high level of protection;
Objective-oriented, non-prescriptive law(we will discuss specific elements);
Clear allocation of responsibility;
Continuous scrutiny, inspection and controls;
Transparency, peer pressure;
Independent scientific advice;
Dispute settlement mechanisms
Training (we speak about this separately).
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
4
Essentially ...
… we have two key commitments:
High level of protection
Transparency
… and we have two key pieces of legislation:
General Food Law Regulation 178/2002
Principles of Official Controls Reg. 882/2004
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
General Food Law (Reg 178/2002)Article 1 – Broad scopeApplies to all stages of production, processing and distribution of food and feed (except primary production).
Article 5 – High level of protectionFood law shall pursue a high level of protection of human life and health and the protection of consumers' interests.
Articles 9/10 – TransparencyPublic consultation, public information.
Article 14 / 15 – Objectives, not measuresUnsafe food and feed must not be placed on the market.
Article 17 – Responsibility and liability Operators are responsible for safety and are liable for the products under their control. Penalties must be dissuasive.
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
General Food Law (Reg 178/2002)Article 18 – Traceability All food, feed and animals: One step up, one step down.
Article 20 – RecallOperators must recall if they have ‘reason to believe’ that products are unsafe. Recalls must be reported to authorities.
Article 11 - ImportsFood and feed imported into the Community complies with food law or conditions recognised as equivalent.
Article 12 - ExportsFood and feed exported shall comply with the food law.
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
Principles of food and Feed Controls
Regulation 882/2004Coherent rules for all authorities:
Adequate staff, resource, training.
Accredited labs, international standards.
Risk-based controls in all sectors
based on multi-annual control plans.
annual reports.
peer review through COM and MS.
delegation of official inspection is possible.
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
8
The Food and Veterinary Office (Art 45 Reg. 882)
Around 300 staff, 150 inspectors;
200 audits per year, 160 in Member States;
Audit of national inspection services;
Audit of third country inspection systems – verification of certification process. NO direct relationship with individual businesses;
All reports published, MS and non-MS alike;
Follow-up through Standing Committe.
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
9
The Rapid Alert System (Art. 50 Reg.178/2002)
Real-time information system managed by DG SANCO;
Member State Authorities and Border Posts on-line;
Market surveillance and import controls;
Alert Notifications trigger immediate action, such as recall verification;
Planning tool for risk-based inspections;
Weekly Reports published – private sector reacts.
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
10
The Standing Committee for the Food ChainChaired by the Commission (Art 58 Reg 178)
• Risk management body with all MSs represented;
• Several Sections - animal health, public health, plants, animal welfare;
• Flexible schedule, rapid procedures;
• Harmonisation of implementing rules, integrity of the single market;
• Safeguard measures, dispute settlement;
• Decision making by qualified majority.
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
11
European Food Safety Authority
Provides scientific advice (Art. 22 Reg. 178/2002)
Independent agency, not part of the Commission
Eight Scientific Panels for risk assessment
Obligatory consultation for authorisations of GMOs, pesticides, additives etc.
Identification of emerging risks
Transparency, Public Participation
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
12
Summary: The EU food law in principle
Public scrutiny is driving constant innovation
All businesses
Liability. Risk-based self-controls
Traceability, Reporting of incidents.
All Member States:
Risk-based inspection and controls.
Control plans and annual reports.
Commission
Audit and verification,
Harmonisation and dispute settlement.
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
13
The EU market is NOT built on trust
Trust is a result of
Harmonised legislation;
Permanent controls and audits;
Transparency and peer pressure;
Robust dispute settlement mechanisms;
Efficient crisis management.
SANCO-D-4SANCO-D-4
International Questions (bilateral)International Questions (bilateral)
Documentation on the web
General Information:http://ec.europa.eu/food/index_en.htm
Food and Veterinary Office:http://ec.europa.eu/food/fvo/index_en.html
European Food Safety Authorityhttp://efsa.europa.eu
And please feel free to contact:[email protected]