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At a time when public concerns are high about what we eat and how we feel, the Commission is developing a new approach to consumer health and food safety. The aim is gradually to establish a proper food policy which attaches fundamental importance to the protection of the consumer and his/her health. A Communication "Consumer Health and Food Safety" [COM (97) 183 dated 30 April 1997] and a Green Paper "The General Principles of Food Law in the European Union" [COM (97) 176 dated 30 April 1997] together lay the foundations for this revised food policy.
The UK's experience over the BSE ("mad cow") crisis has clearly demonstrated that food safety is not only of concern to the consumer but is also at the very root of a proper functioning of the European Union's internal market. Food safety is therefore not only a prerequisite for protecting consumer health but will also serve the interests of producers and those involved in processing and marketing foods and agricultural products.
The Commission's new approach to food safety will be based on three general principles:
As a consequence, the Commission has undertaken a radical reform of its departments dealing with consumer health. It has in particular placed the management of all the relevant Scientific Committees under the responsibility of DGXXIV (the renamed Directorate-General for Consumer Policy and Health Protection). This will now also comprise the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) and a new unit on the assessment of consumer health risks.
The Commission has reorganised and will reinforce the three complementary instruments for protecting consumer health:
Scientific advice
Scientific advice is of the utmost importance at all stages in drawing up new legislation and for the execution and management of existing legislation.
The advice on which the regulatory measures protecting consumer health are based is mainly obtained from the work of the Scientific Committees. The regrouping of these Committees and the creation of a Scientific Steering Committee to coordinate their work will pave the way to greater synergy.
Three main principles should govern the advice: · excellence, · independence, and · transparency.
Scientific advice must be of the highest possible quality and the evaluation of potential hazards should be undertaken by eminent scientists. These scientists must be able to give independent advice and there should be easy access to information on the working procedures of the Committees and to their advice.
Legislation has, in the past often made scientific consultation compulsory on matters which may have an effect on public health. Several Scientific Committees were therefore established by the Commission covering specific areas, most recently one covering matters linked to BSE. The Commission will now revise and align all the mandates of the Scientific Committees and will re-examine the distinction between mandatory and optional consultation of these Committees provided for in existing Community legislation.
Risk analysis
Risk analysis is a three stage process composed of the assessment, the management and the communication of the risk concerned.
Risk assessment is the identification and evaluation of hazards to consumer health and an estimation of the probability of their emergence in a given context.
The task of risk management is to contain or reduce the level of risk identified in order to achieve an appropriate level of protection.
And finally, risk communication informs the parties concerned of the nature of the hazard and the measures to be taken to control it.
Scientific risk assessment offers the Commission a sound basis for proposals and measures in the field of consumer health and food safety. Risk management will include assessing the impact of policy alternatives taking account of the risk assessments and the desired level of protection. To improve risk communication, the Commission will ensure the widest possible access to scientific advice and will fully inform all interested parties of developments.
Control and inspection
Responsibility for the implementation of Community food, veterinary and phytosanitary legislation rests with Member States. The Commission monitors the manner in which they undertake these responsibilities through its control services in DGXXIV. These comprise the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) and a food control section, transferred from DGIII (Industry), where it monitored and evaluated the equivalence and effectiveness of official food control systems operated by the competent national authorities. The FVO will have as its principal mandates the monitoring of the observance of food hygiene and veterinary and plant health legislation within the EU and elsewhere; and contributing towards the maintenance of confidence in the safety of food offered to the European consumer.
The Commission has taken measures to raise the performance of its control services and to strive for excellence by ensuring their independence and transparency.
Operational improvements in the veterinary and phytosanitary sectors have included establishing inspection priorities through informal risk assessments and developing an inspection procedure which follows the whole of the food production chain and all parts of the plant health sector. The food control section will continue to develop existing audit-based procedures for monitoring and evaluating official food control systems in Member States. The need to respond to emergencies will, however, continue to be given the highest priority by the control services.
The overall goal is to provide a harmonised approach to control and inspection for all parts of the food production chain through a managed programme based on the careful targeting of resources. It must be remembered, however, that no control system can offer zero-risk in terms of consumer health protection.
Food law is a matter of great public concern. A high level of security and effective public control is necessary to ensure that the food supply is safe and wholesome and that other consumer interests are protected.
The food sector is of vital importance to the European economy with every household spending on average about 20% of its disposable income on food and drink and with some 2.3 million people employed in the food and drink processing industries.
The vast majority of national food legislation has been harmonised at Community level but European food law has developed piecemeal and there is no central unifying text setting out the fundamental principles of food law and clearly defining the obligations of those concerned.
The Commission's Green Paper on European food law aims to examine the extent to which current legislation meets the needs and expectations of consumers, producers, manufacturers and traders; to consider how well the official control and inspection systems are operating; and to look at how Community food law could be developed in the future. At the end of the consultation process, the Commission will consider what changes are necessary, be it a proposed general Directive on food law; consolidation and simplification or reformulation of existing legislation, or suggestions of a non-legislative nature.
The public debate engendered by the Green Paper will provide guidance to the Commission and enable it to propose ways of improving the protection of public health through provisions in internal market and common agricultural policy legislation; to improve the coherence of Community food law; consolidate and simplify it; improve the operation of the internal market, and take into account the increasingly important external dimension, notably the policies followed by our most advanced trading partners and the requirements of the WTO agreements.
Before considering the policy options submitted for discussion the Green Paper reaffirms the fundamental goals of Community food law which should in no way be put into question:
The Commission wants the regulatory framework to cover all potential risks to the safety and wholesomeness of food, at all stages in the food chain. For this reason, a further objective of the Green Paper is to examine whether processed foodstuffs and primary agricultural production can be brought within the scope of the general rules applicable to foodstuffs. The extension of Community rules on product liability to all operators in the food chain, including primary producers, is also considered.
Simplification and rationalisation of legislation
Criticisms have been expressed in recent years concerning the complexity and fragmentation of Community food law and of the difficulties of updating legislation to take account of technical and scientific progress. In the light of these criticisms, the Green Paper considers the scope for simplification and rationalisation. It looks at the general regulatory approach, the role of self-regulation, the choice of general or specific rules, the question of subsidiarity and legislative simplification, national legislative initiatives, and the need for further Community legislation to complete the internal market.
Review of existing legislation
The Green Paper then reviews existing legislation. It examines the role of the social partners, the use of the Regulation as an alternative to the Directive, simplified procedures for adapting existing legislation to technical and scientific progress, rationalisation of definitions used in Community foodstuffs legislation, ensuring a coherent and consistent body of Community hygiene rules, and labelling rules that ensure that consumers receive all useful information whilst avoiding unnecessarily detailed provisions.
Maintenance of a high level of protection
The Treaty itself requires the Community to contribute to the maintenance of a high level of protection of public health, the environment and consumers. In order to ensure the level is significantly high, protective measures should be based on risk assessment. The importance of an independent and objective source of advice which will command public respect is crucial. Consumer needs and concerns must also be taken into consideration during the decision-making process.
The Community must have adequate means to take protective action against serious and urgent public health risks. The Commission invites comments on possible improvements to the arrangements for managing the risk of zoonosis (any disease and/or infection which is likely to be naturally transmitted from animals to man). It may be desirable to introduce general obligations on food businesses to take all the steps necessary to ensure that only safe, wholesome food, fit for human consumption is placed on the market. The extension of the product liability Directive to cover primary agricultural production should help improve the overall level of consumer protection. Mandatory labelling schemes to include information about production methods might be considered, such as the recently adopted rules on the labelling of beef. Recent events, and in particular fears about the possible transmission of BSE to humans, have highlighted concerns that certain production methods may also have an impact on food safety.
Ensuring the effective implementation of internal market rules
Timely and correct implementation of Community legislation is essential for the effective operation of the internal market.
The primary role of the Community in the field of control is not to replace the Member States, but to verify that the necessary controls are being carried out in an effective and equivalent manner throughout the internal market. The legislation should provide for appropriate enforcement and control measures.
The sanctions for infringement of Community internal market legislation should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
There are mechanisms for examining new draft national legislation and the Commission also ensures respect for EU rules by investigating complaints. The new procedure for mutual information on national measures derogating from the principle of freemovement of goods is also expected to make an important contribution.
The external dimension
The Community is both a major importer and exporter of food. As an importer, the Community must ensure that imported foods meet the same high standards as those laid down for Community production. As an exporter, the Community must be able to reassure governments and consumers in third countries that its food may be safely marketed in their countries.
Legislation should be compatible with the international obligations of the Community, in particular with the WTO agreements. Equally, the Community must work in close partnership with the Member States to ensure that our major trading partners are also respecting their obligations.