The document discusses European Union food safety laws and policies. It outlines that in 2002, the EU adopted the General Food Law to provide a comprehensive framework for food regulation based on risk assessment and management. The European Food Safety Authority was established to provide independent scientific advice on food safety issues. Key principles of EU food law include protecting human health, applying risk analysis, and ensuring traceability and strict controls on contaminants and residues throughout the food chain.

1. Food Laws and Policies in
European Union
By
Abdul Rehman
B Tech Food Technology

2. Introduction to European food safety laws
•In Europe, the food sector is regulated to protect
consumers from potential risks related to food and
feed while also leaving room for companies to
innovate.
•The Authority evaluates the safety of regulated food
ingredients such as additives, flavourings, enzymes
and nutritional substances with a view to supporting
risk managers in authorizing their use in foods.

3. Emergence: European Food Safety Laws
• In 2002 after a series of food-related alerts that impacted on human
health and shook public confidence, the EU adopted the General
Food Law (Regulation EC 178/2002), providing a comprehensive
framework for the EU’s science based food regulatory system.
• Key elements:
Risk assessment
Risk management
Excellence
Independence
Openness
Transparency
Responsiveness

4. Basic goals of European Food Safety Policy
• To ensure a high level of protection of public health and safety, and of
consumer protection.
• To ensure the free circulation of goods.
• Legislation to be based primarily on scientific evidence and risk
assessment.
• To ensure the competitiveness of the European industry.
• To place the primary responsibility for safe food with industry,
producers and suppliers, through self-checking provisions (such as
HACCP) backed up by official controls and appropriate enforcement.
• Legislation to be coherent, rational, consistent, simpler, user-friendly
and developed in full consultation with interested parties.

5. Working: European Food Safety Laws & Policies
• EFSA is governed by an independent Management Board whose members
are appointed to act in the public interest and do not represent any
government, organisation or sector.
• The 15-member Board sets EFSA’s budget and approves the annual work
programme.
• Executive Director is the legal representative of the Authority who is
responsible for all operational matters, staffing issues and drawing up the
annual work programme in consultation with the European Commission,
European Parliament and EU Member States.
• EFSA’s scientific work is led by its Scientific Committee and its 10 Scientific
Panels composed of leading scientists in their fields.
• Additional experts participate in working groups when more specialised
knowledge is required.

6. Working: European Food Safety Laws & Policies
(in contd).
• The Scientific Committee provides advice on cross-cutting issues
while the Panels carry out risk assessments and provide expert
guidance in specific areas:
Additives and
products or
substances used in
animal feed
Animal health and
welfare
Plant protection
products and their
residues
Plant health
Genetically
modified organisms
Food contact
materials, enzymes,
flavourings and
processing aids
Food additives and
nutrient sources
added to food
Dietetic products,
nutrition and
allergies
Contaminants in
the food chain
Biological hazards,
including BSE-
TSErelated risks

7. Structure of European Union Food Law

8. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
The Authority must
• Be guided by the best science to deliver independent and objective
scientific advice on all aspects relating to food and feed safety,
including animal health and welfare and plant protection.
• Be independent of industrial and political interests.
• Be open to rigorous public scrutiny and to make communication and
dialogue with consumers on food safety and health issues.
• Be scientifically authoritive and work closely with national agencies
and scientific bodies.

9. EFSA: Scope
• The General Food Law defines the scope of food lawas it applies to all
businesses in the food chain, “from farm to fork,” including feed for
food producing animals.
• In principle, food law applies to the primary sector, but some
exemptions are in place, particularly in regards to hygiene
requirements.

10. EFSA: Scope (in contd).
The General Food Law provides a definition of “food” as ̶
 ‘Food’ (or ‘foodstuff’) means any substance or product, whether
processed, partially processed or unprocessed, intended to be, or
reasonably expected to be ingested by humans.
 ‘Food’ includes drink, chewing gum and any substance, including
water, intentionally incorporated into the food during its manufacture,
preparation or treatment.
 ‘Food’ shall not include, feed; live animals unless they are prepared for
placing on the market for human consumption; plants prior to
harvesting; medicinal products; cosmetics; tobacco and tobacco
products; narcotic or psychotropic substances and residues and
contaminants.

11. EFSA: Objectives
The General Food Law expresses the objectives of EU food law as:
Food law shall pursue one or more of the general objectives of a
high level of protection of human life and health and the
protection of consumers’ interests, including fair practices in food
trade, taking account of, where appropriate, the protection of
animal health and welfare, plant health and the environment.
Food law shall aim to achieve the free movement in the
Community of food and feed manufactured or marketed according
to the general principles and requirements.

12. EFSA: Principles
• The General Food Law explicitly
labels as “principles” that food law
protecting human health should be
based on risk analysis, and thus on
science.
• Undoubtedly, discussions within the
World Trade Organization (WTO)
regarding the EU approach to
growth-promoting hormones and
genetically modified foods have
contributed to the decision to make
food law (more) science based.

13. EFSA: Principles (in contd).
Another principle is that
where international standards exist or their completion is
imminent, they shall be taken into consideration in the
development or adaptation of food law, except where such
standards or relevant parts would be an ineffective or inappropriate
means for the fulfilment of the legitimate objectives of food law or
where there is a scientific justification, or where they would result
in a different level of protection.
This principle is reflected, for example, in the definition of food
which is based on the food definition in the Codex Alimentarius

14. High level of human health and consumer
protection and maintenance of strict food safety
standard
A food safety policy based on an
integrated & comprehensive approach
Coherent, dynamic legal
framework
Broad body of legislation
in primary production
and processed foods
Food Safety targets

15. EFSA: Key Obligations

16. Traceability
• Means the ability to trace and follow a
food at all stages of production.
• Traceability facilitates the identity,
history and source of a product.
• However, it does not make food safe
and work as a management tool
• It enables the assurance of food safety
and allows action to be taken if food is
found not to be safe, eg. Withdrawal
or recall.

17. Risk Analysis
• Risk analysis must
form the foundation
on which food
safety policy is
based.
• The EU must base
its food policy on
the application of
three components
of risk analysis as
shown in fig.

18. The Hygiene Pack
• Current regime of hygiene rules are often referred to as ‘The Hygiene
Pack’.
• It aims to introduce consistency and clarity throughout the food
production chain from ‘farm to fork’.
• Comprised of following rules

19. The Hygiene Pack: Basic obligation
• FBOs to ensure that all stages of production, processing and
distribution of food under their control satisfy the relevant hygiene
requirements laid down under the regulation.
• All FBOs (production, processing and distribution of food) must put in
place, implement and maintain a permanent procedures based on
HACCP principles.
• For business undertaking low risk activities the prerequisite hygiene
requirements are sufficient, no need for establishment and
implementation of HACCP based procedure.

20. The Hygiene Pack: Basic obligation (in contd).
• Microbiological analysis is done for verification purposes, i.e., to
check that everything was done in such a way to obtain a safe
product.
• Food Safety limit for Salmonella, Listeria etc. above which a food stuff
should be considered unacceptably contaminated is applied to
products placed in the market.
• Process hygiene criterion sets an indicative contamination above
value which corrective actions are required.
• The criterion indicates the acceptable functioning of a production
process.

21. Contaminants and Residues
• “Contaminants” traditionally covers substances which are not
intentionally added to food.
• Some substances are found in food as a result of intentional use. This
concerns residues of pesticides in food of plant and animal origin and
veterinary medicines in food of animal origin.
• Limits to be set for:
Nitrates
(lettuce and
spinach)
Lead Cadmium
and mercury
Aflatoxins in
nuts, dried
fruit, cereals
Polycyclic
aromatic
hydrocarbons
Pataulin in
apple Juice

22. Nutrition and Health Claims
• Main objectives- To achieve a high level of consumer protection by
providing further voluntary information, beyond the mandatory
information foreseen by EU legislation.
• A high level of human health protection shall be ensured in the
definitions and implementation of all community policies and
activities.
• Community action which shall complement national policies, shall be
directed towards improving public health, preventing human illness
and diseases and obviating sources of danger to human health.
• EU Health organisations include- European Centre for Disease
Prevention & Control (ECDC), European Agency for Safety & Health at
Work (EU-OSHA) etc.