Food Safety Regulations: EU and National Frameworks

Posted on Feb 13, 2025 in Business Administration and Innovation Management

This document outlines the key institutions and regulations governing food safety within the European Union (EU) and its member states.

1. EU Public Institutions

Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection (DG SANCO)

DG SANCO plays a crucial role in ensuring food safety across the EU. Its functions include:

  • Establishing regulations on food, prioritizing risks for investigation.
  • Inspecting national authorities responsible for food safety.
  • Assessing the food security of countries joining the EU and those importing food.

2. National State Responsibilities

Within each member state, food safety management falls under the purview of:

  • The Ministry of Agriculture: Responsible for the initial production phase (livestock, crops, oil production, grape pressing, and juice extraction).
  • The Ministry of Health: Responsible for food safety from the defendant.

Key features of state responsibilities include:

  • Adapting national legislation to European law.
  • Import control of products from outside the EU.
  • Issuing export permits for processed foods.
  • Designing special control plans, coordinated with autonomous communities, and providing technical support.

3. Autonomous Communities

Autonomous communities have direct control over food production on farms, the passage of cattle through slaughterhouses, transport, and industrial food processing.

  • The departments of Health and Agriculture are responsible.
  • Inspectors visit industries and farms, conducting special campaigns to monitor suspicious products or specific risks.

4. Municipalities

Municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants can control the activity of selling food at wholesale, retail, restaurants, bars, hotels, etc.

5. Producer Responsibilities

Producers (ranchers, farmers, industry) are responsible for ensuring food security. This includes:

  • Suspending drug administration before slaughter.
  • Discontinuing the use of herbicides and pesticides before harvest.
  • Storing products in appropriate conditions.
  • Conforming to the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) protocol, governing food manufacturing steps where there is more risk.

6. Food Alert Network

The EU operates a rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF) to facilitate the swift exchange of information when a food safety issue arises.

7. Future Directions: White Paper on Food Safety

The White Paper on Food Safety outlines principles to govern future food policy in the EU, covering the entire food chain. Key objectives include:

  • Ensuring that food producers and handlers are primarily responsible for the safety of their products, with authorities monitoring compliance.
  • Developing a consistent and dynamic food policy with scientific advisors to provide quick responses to emerging risks.
  • Preventing consumer exposure to risks.
  • Establishing traceability to track products from production to consumption.
  • Improving information services for consumers through transparency.
  • Enhancing and complementing current EU regulations.
  • Improving food control of imported products.

8. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was established in 2002 with the following functions:

  • Promoting research related to food security.
  • Serving as a control reference for risk assessment and reporting to consumers.

Each country has a Food Standards Agency to implement the EFSA program. In Spain, this depends on the ministries of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Health, and Environment.