Miljø- og Fødevareudvalget 2017-18
MOF Alm.del Bilag 248
Offentligt
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Background paper
Food safety
in the EU
February 2018
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The EU’s policy on food safety takes an integrated approach and
encompasses the entire food chain, from animal feed, animal health, plant
protection and food production to processing, storage, transport, import
and export, as well as retail sales.
The implementation of this integrated food-safety policy in the EU involves
various actions: providing an effective control system, managing
international relations with third countries and international organisations,
and conducting science-based risk management.
The European Court of Auditors is currently examining whether the EU food
safety model is based on sound principles, and whether the way it is
implemented is effective in keeping the products we consume in the EU
safe. As the EU’s policy on food safety is necessarily broad, the audit will
focus on the decisions and the control systems concerning chemical hazards
that could put at risk the safety of the products we consume in the EU.
Audit evidence will be collected through reviews and analyses of relevant
legislation, and by monitoring data, publications, and other documents. We
will carry out on-the-spot visits and interviews with various Commission
departments as well as with relevant EU agencies and authorities, and other
stakeholders, including supranational bodies. We have selected three
Member States (the Netherlands, Italy and Slovenia) for audit visits in order
to provide a picture of how systems work on the ground.
This audit report will form part of a series on various aspects of the food
chain produced by the European Court of Auditors. The series also includes
Food Waste (published in January 2017), Animal Welfare (currently
underway) and Organic Food (also planned for 2018).
If you wish to contact the audit team, you may do so at the following email
address:
[email protected]
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CONTENTS
THE CONCEPT OF FOOD SAFETY
REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT
Legislation governing EU policy on food safety
System for official controls
Control systems for imports
EU FOOD SAFETY FUNDING
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Commission’s responsibilities
EU agencies and authorities
Member States’ responsibilities
Food and feed business operators
ISSUES IDENTIFIED WHEN PREPARING THE AUDIT
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THE CONCEPT OF FOOD SAFETY
Food safety is a scientific discipline whose aim is to keep humans safe from any disease
coming from any eaten food.
Figure 1
shows how the concept of food safety contrasts
with other related terms such as food quality, food fraud and food defence, terms which
are often misused in discussions related to food safety.
Figure 1:
Food protection risk matrix
Source: Spink, John; Moyer, Douglas C. (2011-11-01).
"Defining the Public Health Threat of Food
Fraud".
Journal
of
Food
Science.
76
(9):
R157–R163.
doi:10.1111/j.1750-
3841.2011.02417.x. ISSN 1750-3841.
The aim of any food safety model is to combat three types of hazards
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:
- Physical hazards
are objects in food that may cause injury if eaten. They are usually
a result of unsafe food-handling practices or accidental contamination.
- Biological hazards
include parasites, viruses and bacteria that can make us sick. A
proper implementation of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) protocol is
the main tool used to minimise the risk of biological hazards.
- Chemical hazards
consist of poisonous substances which occur naturally or which
are added during food production or handling. Examples include cleaning agents,
pesticides and certain metals. While the risk of improper use of certain chemicals
may be checked at the time of application (e.g. by means of documentation on use
of pesticides at farm level), the presence of residues may affect further stages of
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the food supply chain or even have an effect on different types of products. For
example, pesticides may be properly or improperly used when growing plants as
feed, and pesticide residues may be detected when testing food of animal origin.
REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT
Legislation governing EU policy on food safety
The body of legislation governing EU policy on food safety is very large. Each of the circles
in
Figure 2
represents numerous legal provisions, ranging from articles in the EU Treaties,
to directives, regulations, decisions, agreements, etc.
Figure 2:
Body of legal provisions governing EU policy on food safety
Source:
European Commission.
However, three pieces of legislation are especially important.
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The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides the basis for the EU
food safety policy: it empowers the EU to take action to promote public health and
consumer protection
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Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 lays down the general principles and requirements of
food and feed law (General Food Law Regulation). It sets out a framework for the
development of food and feed legislation both at EU and national level, and covers
all stages of food and feed production and distribution.
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Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 on official controls performed to verify compliance
with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules
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.
In addition to this, specific legislation exists for each of the particular domains (e.g. animal
health, feed, food additives).
System for official controls
The EU’s food safety control systems follow an integrated approach. They cover processes
at all stages of the entire food supply chain (see
Figure 3).
Figure 3:
EU control systems for food safety
Source:
European Commission.
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The Official Controls Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 forms the basis for the checks carried
out. The Regulation sets out an integrated and uniform approach to official controls along
the agri-food chain. It allows competent authorities to verify compliance with food and
feed law and to prevent, eliminate and reduce to acceptable levels risks to human beings
and animals. The Regulation also lays down specific rules for official controls on imported
products.
Control systems for imports
Checks on imports aim at ensuring that imports are compliant with EU legislation in the
same way that products produced in the EU are. The underlying principle is that all food
products on EU markets must be safe, irrespective of their origin. The checks set by the
EU should be consistent with standards set by international bodies working in the field of
food safety and animal and plant health
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.
EU FOOD SAFETY FUNDING
A dedicated heading (chapter 17) of the EU budget indicates the funds allocated to “food
and feed safety, animal health, animal welfare and plant health”. The total ceiling for the
expenditure of this heading for the period 2014-2020 is set at 1 892 million euro. The
food sector in Europe is made up of around 287 000 enterprises with an annual turnover
of approximately one trillion euro. The added value of this industry is estimated at 203
billion euro, and the industry provides employment for 4.25 million persons. The scale of
this activity therefore has a tangible impact on global trade
(Figure 4
).
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Figure 4:
The impact of food industry on global trade
Source:
European Commission.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Businesses involved in the food chain have primary responsibility for food safety.
However, the EU institutions and Member States have also important obligations
imposed by food law.
The Commission’s responsibilities
Food safety provisions are decided at EU level. The Commission, taking account of advice
given by specialised EU agencies, puts forward rules to be followed to guarantee the
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safety of the food consumed in the EU. The Directorate-General for Health and Food
Safety (DG SANTE) is the Commission department in charge of this policy.
The Commission verifies that control systems at national level are effective. To this end,
DG SANTE carries out inspections in Member States to check that official controls have
been carried out in accordance with Multi-Annual National Control Plans (MANCPs) and in
compliance with EU standards. The Commission prepares an annual report on the overall
operation of official controls in Member States based on their audits and on their annual
reports.
Before approving imports of food of animal origin into the EU, the Commission verifies
the non-EU exporting country’s animal, plant and public health situation. This includes the
evaluation of relevant legislation, control systems, disease surveillance measures and
laboratory facilities. The Commission also carries out inspections in non-EU countries to
assess the situation on the spot. Based on the results of these inspections and the
guarantees given by the non-EU country, the Commission registers the country, setting
the specific conditions under which imports will be authorised and drawing up a list of
approved establishments in the country.
After the non-EU country is registered, the Commission also carries out audits to verify
that its control systems comply with EU food law, or that the country has equivalent
legislation in place. It also audits the Member States’ import control systems to verify that
controls at all EU borders provide adequate protection.
EU agencies and authorities
At EU level, the following European Agencies play an important role in the EU’s food
safety policy by providing scientific advice.
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The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
provides independent scientific
advice that forms the basis for European policies and legislation. It also advises on
existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA’s work covers
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food and feed safety, nutrition, animal health and welfare as well as plant
protection and plant health.
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The European Medicines Agency (EMA)
is responsible for the protection and
promotion of public and animal health. It does so by evaluating and supervising
the use of medicines for human and veterinary use.
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The Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency’s (CHAFEA’s)
mandate includes actions in the field of health, consumer protection, food safety
as well as information and the promotion of agricultural products. Currently,
CHAFEA implements the EU Health Programme, the Consumer Programme, Better
Training for Safer Food (BTSF) initiative and the Promotion of Agriculture Products
Programme.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the Community Plant
Variety Office (CPVO) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) complete the list of EU
agencies working in the field of food safety.
Member States’ responsibilities
Member States are mainly responsible for the enforcement of agri-food chain legislation.
National authorities operate official national control systems to verify that operators’
activities and goods placed on the EU market comply with relevant standards and
requirements. The Official Controls Regulation requires Member States to carry out
checks regularly, on a risk basis and with an appropriate frequency which depends on
specific products (e.g. “sampling levels and frequency” for live animals and animal
products). Checks should cover all stages of the food chain.
This includes mandatory border controls and checks based on harmonised import
conditions, agreements with non-EU countries, and these countries’ MANCPs. The
Member States carry out documentary, identity and physical checks, including laboratory
analysis, to verify that the goods conform to their description and meet EU import
conditions. Following these checks and after completion of the entry documents, the
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Member State authorities can release the goods for free circulation. The Member States
report on the details and the results of the checks to the Commission.
Food and feed business operators
Food and feed business operators include farmers, fishermen, processors, distributors,
importers, retailers, etc. All of them are subject to general and specific legal
requirements. According to the Commission, primary responsibility for ensuring
compliance with food law –and in particular the safety of food – rests with food (or feed)
business operators. To complement and support this principle, the competent authorities
of the Member States must carry out adequate and effective controls.
ISSUES IDENTIFIED WHEN PREPARING THE AUDIT
When preparing our audits, we carry out an issue analysis of the policy area or
programmes that we intend to examine. Since these issues are identified before the audit
work commences, they should not be regarded as audit observations, conclusions or
recommendations.
In the course of our audit on food safety, we will look at those areas in relation to the
issues that were identified. In particular, we will check:
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whether Member States implement control system for chemicals in food/feed/live
animals and plants as stipulated in legislation; and
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whether the Commission monitors the Member States’ control systems for chemicals
in food/feed/live animals and plants as stipulated in legislation;
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whether the EU’s import conditions can guarantee that the key EU requirements in
connection with chemicals in food/feed/live animals and plants are respected.
We will also analyse whether the EU food safety model for chemicals is in line with
international best practice and guided by science.
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ABOUT ECA SPECIAL REPORTS AND BACKGROUND PAPERS
Our special reports set out the results of audits of EU policies and
programmes or management topics related to specific budgetary
areas.
Background papers provide information based on preparatory work
undertaken before the start of an on-going audit task. They are
intended as a source of information for those interested in the audited
policy and/or programme.
If you wish to contact the audit team, you may do so at the following
email address:
[email protected]
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Article 3(14) of Regulation 178/2002: ‘hazard’ means a biological, chemical or physical agent
in, or condition of, food or feed with the potential to cause an adverse health effect.
Article 168 sets out that a high level of human health protection must be ensured in the
definition and implementation of all Union policies and activities. Article 169 lays down that
in order to promote the interest of consumers and to ensure high level of consumer
protection, the Union shall contribute to protecting health, safety and economic interests of
consumers.
Regulation (EU) 625/2017 will replace Regulation (EC) No 882/2004. However, its entry into
force has been set at 14 December 2019. When provisions of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004
are mentioned in this paper, care has been taken to check whether the content of those
provisions is affected by the text of the new Regulation. The same care will be taken
throughout the audit work.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the
International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).
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