Indeed, these unprecedented waves of public concern have highlighted the need for all those involved in producing, manufacturing or supplying food, on the one hand, and the official bodies responsible for regulating and controlling food safety standards on the other, to play their part in ensuring that the highest standards are maintained. A safe food chain from farm to fork, correctly regulated and effectively controlled is the road to building this confidence. Food businesses have their role to play in this regard, as ultimately it is the responsibility of every business to ensure the safety of the foods they produce, manufacture or sell. The Commission is committed to ensuring that European consumers have access to the safest food supply in the world. I am personally determined to establish a comprehensive legal framework with effective and open organisational structures so that we can rebuild the fragile confidence in our food supply.
Food safety has to be the driving force in the regulation of the food supply.
In addition our legislation must be modern and flexible enough to regulate a highly technologically advanced European food industry while at the same time provide sufficient safeguards in smaller more traditional food businesses. Not only do we have to consider the food law itself but also we have to ensure that our procedures are efficient. For example where we have approval mechanisms for products, the scientific assessments must be carried out thoroughly and comprehensively, and without undue delay. Where food safety is assured we must not needlessly block industrial innovation, through over bureaucratic requirements. You will have seen our thoughts on how we deliver our objectives in the White Paper on Food Safety, which we published last year.