EU research puts food safety first
As the recent food scares in Europe have shown, EU consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the safety aspects of their daily diets. Such health scares can have a major impact on demand, profitability and employment. Consequently, the European Commission is stepping up its research and legislative activities in this sector and, in response to public concern, has instigated a comprehensive and integrated approach to achieving maximum health protection for the consumers of Europe's food, with the adoption of a radical reform plan in its White Paper on Food Safety. Background In recent years, new issues concerning foodstuffs have emerged as a result of enhanced scientific knowledge and popular awareness of the link between nutrition and health, alongside concerns about the techniques used in agricultural and food production. Before the Commission's former DGXXIV for Consumer Policy and Consumer Health Protection was created (now Health and Consumer Protection DG), EU action to protect consumers had been relatively unsystematic and gradual. However, there had been extensive achievements in single market legislation relating to food and health, resulting in the harmonisation of the majority of national food laws at Community level. Today, all developed countries have adopted a substantial body of legislation which seeks to "guarantee that food is safe, wholesome and fit for human consumption, that commercial transactions are conducted fairly, and that the necessary systems of official control and inspection are put in place". (1) However, it was the BSE crisis in 1996 which provoked the EU into taking steps to ensure better consumer protection. In 1997, the Commission's communication on Consumer health and food safety announced the restructuring of the DG for Consumer Policy and Consumer Health Protection, and defined the institution's new approach to the sector: Food safety is to be achieved by three complementary instruments: risk analysis, scientific opinions, and controls and inspections. In 1998, in a follow-up communication on Food, veterinary and plant health control and inspection, the Commission reiterated its commitment to maintaining acceptable food standards and public health, and advocated an effective and active partnership between: + the food industry, where monitoring and self-policing systems were called for to ensure food production complies with Community law; + the Member States, where coordinated control programmes were demanded for the entire food production chain, along with the introduction of audit systems; + the Commission, which must use audit techniques to monitor the performance of the competent authorities throughout the food production chain. Food for thought The result of the Commission's 1997 Eurobarometer survey on consumer issues, which revealed that the safety of food products was a major concern, resulted in the decision to devote the institution's 1998 and 1999 consumer policy information initiatives to food safety and consumer health. Its 1998 Work Programme called for higher standards of consumer health protection when products for human consumption are placed on the market. Emphasis was placed on labelling regulations, testing for potential health risks, and pre-sale monitoring of production procedures. The 1999 Work Programme moved the emphasis to improving the quality of food products in response to consumer demands, and announced a series of initiatives in the veterinary and phytosanitary fields to increase protection and control, and to simplify existing legislation. The Commission Consumer Policy Action Plan (1999-2001) will address new obligations imposed by the Amsterdam Treaty which commits the EU to promoting consumer interest and ensuring a high level of consumer protection by promoting their right to information, education and organisation. On 12 January 2000, the Commission adopted the White Paper on Food Safety which represents the culmination of three months of extensive work by the institution since its appointment last September, and builds on the consultations arising from the 1997 Green Paper on Food Law. Seen as a major initiative to establish world-class food safety standards and systems, it sets out a radical reform plan to include a key legislative reform programme, alongside the setting up, by 2002, of a new European Food Authority. A European Food Authority The proposed new body would address weaknesses in the present system, such as a lack of scientific support for the scientific advice system, inadequacies in monitoring and surveillance of food safety issues, gaps in the rapid alert system, and lack of coordination of scientific cooperation and analytical support. It must be "guided by the best science, be independent of industrial and political interests, be open to rigorous public scrutiny, be scientifically authoritative and work closely with national scientific bodies" in: The establishment of risk assessments through scientific advice, to include all food consumption matters having a direct or indirect impact on consumer health and safety, including the risk and primary nutritional issues of food production, industrial processes, storage, distribution and retailing; animal health and welfare; and risk assessments. Information gathering and analysis, taking a proactive role in developing and operating food safety monitoring and surveillance programmes, and establishing a network of contacts with similar bodies in the EU and third countries. Communication, informing all interested parties of its findings in respect of both scientific opinions and monitoring and surveillance programme results, as a key element in restoring and maintaining European consumer confidence. Rapid alert, enhancing the current system, to include animal feed problems. Food safety legislation The White Paper sets over 80 separate actions on all aspects of food products from "farm to table", and is intended to close loopholes in current legislation. The new legal framework will cover animal feed, animal health and welfare, hygiene, contaminants and residues, novel foods, additives, flavourings, packaging and irradiation. It will also include a proposal on General Food Law which will embody the principles of food safety. Control of legislation implementation Comprehensive legislation is proposed to "recast" the different control requirements, and will take into account the general principle that all parts of the food production chain must be subject to official control. The Commission and Member States will together develop an overall Community framework for national control systems. Consumer information The Commission will work with the European Food Authority to promote a dialogue with consumers to encourage their involvement in new food safety policies. They will be kept better informed on emerging food safety concerns and of risks to certain groups from particular foods, and food labelling proposals will be brought forward. International dimension As the EU is the world's largest importer/exporter of food products, the actions proposed must be presented effectively and explained to trading partners. Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) EU-funded research into food production, food safety, and health and nutrition has always been a very significant and successful aspect of the Commission's framework programmes. In FP5, greater emphasis is placed on the role of food in improving the quality of life for European consumers, not only to address public concern about food safety, but also because as the world's leading agri-foodstuffs producer, accounting for 16.5% of the Union's industrial production, the EU must maintain its competitiveness. In the Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources thematic programme, the scientific and technological objectives of the Key Action - Food, nutrition and health - fall into three main areas: New and/or improved safe and flexible manufacturing technologies; detection tests and elimination processes for infectious and toxic agents throughout the food chain; the role of food in promoting and sustaining health. From 1998 to 2002, FP5 will build on the research efforts of previous framework programmes while focusing on and reinforcing the links between food and health. Joint Research Centre The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the EU's reference centre of science and technology, with a mission to provide scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of Union policies. For many years, the JRC has offered expert scientific and technical support to other Commission directorates and to the European decision-making process as a whole. "Europe's laboratory" comprises eight specialised institutes based in five Member States. The 1999-2002 Work Programme involves 101 projects in four main areas of activity: Serving the citizen, enhancing sustainability, underpinning European competitiveness, and atomic energy safety (the Euratom Work Programme). Within the context of consumer health and food safety in FP5, activities are focused on the establishment and validation of methods for quality and safety analysis of food and animal feed, as well as releases from food contact materials. This also covers work on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM), based in Geel, Belgium, promotes a common European measurement system by developing and performing specific reference measurements, producing certified reference materials, organising international measurement evaluation programmes, establishing transnational databases and carrying out pre-normative research. In the field of consumer protection and food safety, the IRMM is engaged in top-level BSE projects, improvements in the ability to measure levels of bacterial contamination in food and water, reference materials to detect GMOs and for the standardisation of methods for dioxin/PCB determination. The Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP), in Ispra, Italy, focuses on improving understanding of hazards, exposure and risks posed by food contaminants, drugs, and chemicals, through the development, validation and application of advanced methods and strategies. In particular, the IHCP is active in the provision of reliable and validated methods and sound analytical data in several areas of food analysis to permit, for example, further assessment of risks. Studies have been undertaken on the detection of animal meals in feeding stuff, natural toxicants such as mycotoxins in food (especially baby food) and animal feeds. The institute is also involved in the detection of GMOs in food and food products and maintains information services to monitor and ensure the safe release of genetically modified crops and plants into the environment. There is vigorous activity on food contact materials, by evaluating and monitoring releases from food packages (e.g. recycled materials) and by assessing their suitability for human use. In 1999, the IHCP set up simplified methods for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the source of the recent contamination of Belgian food and feeds with dioxins. Other relevant projects include management of a databank on authentic European wines (also considering the development and provision of analytical methods) to prevent fraud and the development of methods to monitor compliance with labelling. The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS), based in Seville, Spain, monitors and analyses science and technology developments by operating international networks, pooling expertise of high-level advisers and delivering the information. In the current dispute between the EU and US concerning hormones in beef cattle, the IPTS coordinated the rapid mobilisation of evidence concerning the impact on humans of the hormones used in rearing bovines. The institute also plays a vital part in monitoring pollution in air, water and land. Likewise, the Environment Institute (EI), in Ispra, is instrumental in research efforts to support EU policy for protection of the environment and the citizen. Within the EI, the European Reference Laboratory for Water Pollution has been established to provide scientific and technical support for the definition and implementation of EU legislation on water quality, and contamination of the soil and ground water from landfills, the release of toxic substances during incineration, and the excessive use of agro-chemicals. 1. Proposals for a Green Paper on Food Law, 1997.