1 billion US dollars. Transparency is essential. Those governments or companies that tried to cover existing or emerging problems paid it cash. A simple but clear food legislation is needed. Simple, to avoid putting an unnecessary burden on industry Clear, to be easily understandable also by SMEs and stakeholders, not only lawyers of multinationals Legislation, because we see that self-regulation is not the good solution in this area Effective monitoring of the implementation the legislation is needed.
Consumer associations have a key role to play here.
Independent, transparent and excellence of scientific advice and inspections are vital for the presence of safe food products on the market. There are several other issues that could be mentioned. To conclude, I would like to say that I am keen to learn more about your experiences. I understand from my close and excellent contacts with the competent Canadian authorities that you have not had any food crisis for a very long period of time. I would be interested in finding out more about this.