4.1.2. INTERNAL MARKET RULES - HYGIENE AND SAFETY OF FOODSTUFFS
‘Which European rules on foodstuffs relate to technical, labelling and packaging issues?
‘Where can companies consult guidance documents on HACCP?
‘Which labels are officially approved regarding the origin of foodstuffs, organic production, traditional specialties, etc.?
For an answer to these questions, look into the websites and publications presented below.
I. EUROPEAN FOODSTUFFS LEGISLATION |
Following web pages allow to identify laws in the field of foodstuffs legislation:
I.1. Summaries of EU foodstuff laws
Information source: European Commission - SCADPLUS Website: http://europa.eu/scadplus/ |
How to use this website?
Select “Index”
Select “F” and then “Foodstuffs” or “Food safety”
Result: the user will find titles and brief summaries of EU foodstuff laws
I.2. Full texts of EU foodstuff laws
Information source: European Commission - EUR-LEX |
How to use this website?
Step 1: Try to find titles and reference numbers of EU Directives, Regulations, Decisions, etc. via the “Scadplus” website (see I.1.).
Example: search Directive 200/13/EC
Step 2: Login to the website of Eur-Lex (click on the link above) and click on “Simple search”.
Step 3: Click on “Search by natural number”.
Step 4: Enter the year (“2000”) and the number (“13”), select “Directive” and click on “search”.
Step 4: Click on “Bibliographic notice”.
Step 5: Click on the most recent consolidated version of the Directive
I.3. EU policy in the field of food and feed safety
Information source: European Commission – DG Health and Consumer Protection |
This website contains a detailed description of topics regulated under EU foodstuffs and animal feed laws (e.g. comments, information about new legislation under preparation, contact points, etc).
More specific, following topics are presented:
- General Food Law Principles
Precautionary principle
Traceability
Responsibilities
Procedures
- Animal nutrition Labelling of feed materials
Feed hygiene
Feed additives
Approval & registration of
Establishments
Undesirable substances
Sampling and analysis methods
Official controls
Legislation list
- Labelling and nutrition Food labelling
Health and nutrition claims
Nutrition labelling
Mineral waters
Food supplements
Addition of vitamins & minerals
Dietetic foods
Foods for infants & young children
Foods for weight reduction
Foods for special medical purposes
Foods for sports people
Foods for diabetics
- Biotechnology Novel foods
GM food
GM feed
GM plants & seeds
Strategy for Europe
Authorisation
- Chemical safety Additives
Flavourings
Contaminants
Residues
Food contact materials
- Biological safety Food Hygiene
BSE / Scrapie
Animal by-products
Salmonella / Food-borne diseases
Microbiological criteria
Community reference laboratory
Irradiation
- Controls Food control
Feed control
Other topics on this website:
II. HACCP AND FAO / WHO FOOD STANDARDS |
Foodstuff producers are legally obliged to apply the HACCP principles. HACCP is a method that companies must apply in order to safeguard the quality of food products, based on two pillars: analysis of the dangers (HA = Hazard Analysis) and determination of points in the production process where these dangers are being controlled (Critical Control Points). HACCP knows 7 principles.
1. The possible dangers which can occur are determined. This means that as well the microbial dangers (decay of products) as well as pollution (chemical pollution, strange objects) are taken into consideration. |
2. The points in the production process where the dangers can be managed / controlled efficiently, have to be laid down as critical control points (CCPs). Example: a sterilisation process. |
3. For these critical points border limits (critical limits) are determined which need to be respected. Example: the minimum and maximum temperature and the period of the sterilisation process. |
4. On these CCPs, the danger is managed by measurements of the functioning of the installation (= a system to monitor control of the CCPs). |
5. On beforehand, corrective measures are laid down, which need to be applied if measurements / monitoring show derogations. |
6. The complete system needs to be controlled regularly for its efficiency and needs to be adapted regularly in order to follow the changes of the process or the product. |
7. All actions in the company need to be registered (= a documentation concerning all procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their application). |
Information source: Codex Alimentarius Website: http://www.codexalimentarius.net |
How to use this website?
1) Information about food hygiene, incl. HACCP
Select “Official Standards – Special Publications”
Select “Food Hygiene – Basic Texts (2003)”
Result: document “Recommended International Code of Practice General Principles of Food Hygiene”
2) Information about standards for producing certain foodstuffs
Select “Official Standards – Official Codex Standards”
III. SCIENTIFIC ADVICE ON FOOD SAFETY |
Information source: The European Food Safety Authority Website: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/ |
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) provides objective scientific advice on all matters with a direct or indirect impact on food and feed safety. EFSA is also consulted on nutrition in relation to Community legislation. EFSA is an agency of the European Community. EFSA was established by the European Parliament in 2002 following a series of food scares in the 1990s (BSE, dioxins….) which undermined consumer confidence in the safety of the food chain.
EFSA’s broad mandate allows it to take a comprehensive view of the food chain and provide a coherent scientific basis for policy and legislation. The scope of its responsibilities, however, does not extend to risk management decisions, proposing or adopting legislation or control—all of which remain the responsibilities of the institutions designated in the Treaty. EFSA has six main tasks:
- to provide independent scientific advice on food safety and related issues to be used as a basis for risk management decisions by appropriate EU entities;
- to advise on technical food issues that underpin policy development and legislation related to the food chain;
- to collect and analyze data on dietary, exposure and other information relevant to potential risks along the food chain;
- to identify and provide early warning for emerging risks;
- to support the European Commission in the case of crisis;
-to communicate to the public on all matters within its mandate.
IV. SPECIFIC LABELS FOR FOODSTUFFS |
IV.1. Geographical indications & designations of origin, certificates of specific character of foodstuffs
Products which correspond with certain requirements can receive following kinds of labels:
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1) PROTECTED GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION (PGI)
2) PROTECTED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN (PDO)
3) GUARANTEED TRADITIONAL SPECIALTY
Information source: European Commission – DG Agriculture Website: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/foodqual/quali1_en.htm |
1. GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS AND DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN
The following legislation deals with this matter.
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 of 14 July 1992 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs
This Regulation does not apply to wine products or spirit drinks. The protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for wines is ruled through the following Regulations.
- Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine
- Commission Regulation (EC) No 753/2002 of 29 April 2002 laying down certain rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 as regards the description, designation, presentation and protection of certain wine sector products
2. GUARANTEED TRADITIONAL SPECIALTY
The following legislation deals with this matter:
Examples
1) Champagne (France)
Champagne is a sparkling wine produced by inducing the in-bottle secondary fermentation of wine to effect carbonation. It is produced exclusively within the Champagne region of France, from which it takes its name. While the term "champagne" is used by some makers of sparkling wine in other parts of the world, numerous countries limit the use of the term to only those wines that come from the Champagne appellation. In Europe, this principle is enshrined in the European Union by Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status. Other countries, such as the United States, have recognized the exclusive nature of this name, yet maintain a legal structure that allows longtime domestic producers of sparkling wine to continue to use the term "Champagne" under specific circumstances.
2) Feta-cheese (Greece)
There are seven ''protected designation of origin'' regions for feta production: the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, mainland Greece, Macedonia, Thrace and the island of Lesbos.
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IV.2. “BIO” Label for organic farming
Products which correspond with certain requirements can receive following label:
Information source: European Commission – DG Agriculture |
The following legislation deals with this matter.
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of 24 June 1991 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs
The full texts of these EU-Regulations can be consulted at following information source:
Eur-Lex: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm
