Commission to bolster food safety laws

Date: 30/09/1999

By Renée Cordes

THE European Commission is drawing up proposals for strict new hygiene standards in all stages of food production as part of a wide-ranging campaign to restore consumer confidence battered by a series of scares.

New Consumer Commissioner David Byrne and Enterprise Commissioner Erkki Liikanen are to press ahead with proposals which the previous Commission team had planned to unveil just before its surprise resignation in March.

"We want a comprehensive law to make the legal and practical situation clear for food producers," said an aide to Byrne, who added that the new Commission planned to propose introducing the new rules in the form of a regulation, which could take effect immediately, rather than opting for an EU directive, which would take longer to implement.

The food hygiene proposal, originally drawn up by former Industry Commissioner Martin Bangemann and Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler, would set out strict hygiene requirements for numerous food products, including those derived from plants and animals, in all stages of production. It includes requirements relating to packaging, storage and labelling as well as slaughtering conditions.

The new approach would make it easier to monitor whether standards are being met. Officials are still discussing whether responsibility for monitoring compliance with these standards should lie with industry, public health authorities or both.

Consumer and farmers' organisations have welcomed the Commission's plans. "This is very much needed," said Beate Kettlitz, a food safety expert at consumer group BEUC. "We are looking for a system of traceability of the whole food chain, from production to the table."

Costa Golfidis, director of livestock products at European farmers' organisation COPA, said the initiative would also make it easier for industry to ensure better health standards.

"The problem is that now even where we have standards, they may not be applied in a uniform way," he said. "With a regulation, it would be easier to ensure that the standards are applied in the same way across the board."

The initiative is a key element of Byrne's mission to shore up Union food safety standards, prompted by public outrage over several recent health scares. Consumer confidence was dented earlier this year by the contaminated animal feed crisis in Belgium, which resulted in poultry and other products being taken off shelves across Europe.

"What is important for me is that, at the end of the day, the consumer will have confidence in decisions taken on questions of food safety," Byrne told MEPs earlier this month. Commission President Romano Prodi has also pledged to set up an agency to monitor food safety similar to the US Food and Drug Administration.

The European Commission is drawing up proposals for strict new hygiene standards in all stages of food production as part of a wide-ranging campaign to restore consumer confidence battered by a series of scares.