Communication from the Commission - Consumer health and food safety
Date: 1997-04-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: consumer protection, food inspection, foodstuffs legislation, public health, scientific committee (EU)

I 

^ 

1  COMMISSION  OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels. 30.04. !997 
COM(97)  183 final 

COMMUNICATION  FROM  THE  COMMISSION 

CONSUMER  HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY 

INDEX 

Introduction 

Page 3 

Part  1 : 

Synopsis of objectives and instruments 

Page 6 

Part 2: 

Scientific Advice on Consumer Health: A proactive 

Page 9 

approach 

Part 3: 

Risk analysis 

Page 19 

Part 4: 

Control and inspection - a new approach 

Page 21 

Annex I: 

Present mandates of the existing Scientific Committees 

Page 31 

Annex II:  Main legislative acts currently requiring the Commission to  Page 34 

monitor  or  control  the  manner  in  which  they  are 

respected by Member States or third countries 

Introduction 

The aim of this Communication  is to  inform  all  interested parties,  in particular the 

European Parliament and the Council, of the action that the Commission is taking to 

reinforce the manner in which it obtains and makes use of scientific advice,  and in 

which  it  operates  its food,  veterinary  and  phytosanitary  control  and  inspection 

services.  The  Commission  undertakes to provide  regular updates of its progress  with 

the implementation of the approach laid down in this Communication. 

In his  speech  before  the European  Parliament  on  18 February  1997 President  Santer 

made "a plea for the gradual establishment  of a proper food  policy which gives pride 

of place to consumer protection and consumer health". This communication goes hand 

in hand with the Green Book on food  legislation  in laying the foundations  for  such a 

proper  food  policy.  It  places  food  safety  and  consumer  health  at  the  core  of  a  new 

political  departure  based  on  three  general  principles  outlined  in  President  Santer's 

speech: 

first, that responsibility  for legislation should be separate from that for 

scientific  consultation; 

second, that responsibility for legislation should be separate from that for 

inspection; 

third, that there should be greater transparency and more widely-available 

information throughout the decision-making process and inspection measures. 

Henceforth  all the relevant scientific  committees and responsibility  for  inspection and 

control will be placed under the authority  of the Commissioner  for  Consumer  Policy 

and  Health  Protection.  The  relevant  Directorate-General  (DG  XXIV)  has  been 

reorganised to have the particular responsibility for consumer health. 

Part  1 of this communication  provides a synopsis of the objectives  and instruments of 

this  new  political  departure.  Part  2  outlines  the  proactive  approach  for  scientific 

advice  on  consumer  health  and  the  manner  in  which  the  Commission  tackles  its 

responsibilities.  More  time  is  needed  for  revising  the  mandates  of  the  Scientific 

Committees.  The  compulsory  or  voluntary  nature  of  consultations  provided  in 

existing  legislation  and the streamlining  of the mandates without  loosing  sight  of the 

often multidisciplinary nature of safety  issues will need particular attention. 

Part  3  explains  the  risk  analysis  approach  which  will  be  followed  in  the  field  of 

consumer health. Part 4 puts forward  the control and inspection procedures which the 

Commission  intends  to  follow.  Even  an  improved  use  of  existing  resources  will  not 

allow  a  serious  coverage  of  the  wide  range  of  about  80  legislative  acts  currently 

requiring  the  Commission  to  monitor  or  control  the  manner  in  which  they  are 

respected  by  Member  States  or  third  countries.  Respecting  the  principle  of 

subsidiarity,  a  new  approach  is  outlined  for  implementation  over  the  medium-term 

which  identifies  high  risk  subjects  for  priority  inspection,  raises  performance  and 

strives  for  control  excellency.  In  implementing  this  new  approach  policy,  the 

Commission will act in a spirit of openness and dialogue with citizens. 

There is thus an urgent need for reinforced  resources, in respect not only of the control 

services, but also for those involved in the preparation and the legislative follow-up  of 

the scientific  advice. 

The  present  communication  explains  in  detail  the  new  approach  of  the  Commission 
on "consumer  health"1  and  food  safety,  in particular  with respect to  scientific  advice 

and  to  control  and  inspection.  President  Santer  explained  in  his  speech  before  the 

European  Parliament  that  the  Commission  has  undertaken  a  radical  reform  of  the 

departments  dealing  with consumer  health. The Commission  has in particular  placed 

the  management  of  all  the  relevant  scientific  committees  under  the  responsibility  of 

DG  XXIV  (the  Directorate  General  for  Consumer  Policy  and  Consumer  Health 

Protection), which will now also comprise the Food and Veterinary  Office  (FVO) and 

a  new  unit  on the  assessment  of consumer  health  risks. The  clear  explanation  of  the 

1 See part 2, section 2.2 for a more detailed description of the scope of this term. 

new approach unavoidably  leads to a presentation  in some detail  of the various tasks 

of  these  and  other  Commission  services.  However,  it  must  be  stressed  that  the  new 

policy  in  the  area  of  consumer  health  and  food  safety  involves  many  of  the 

Commission's  services,  and  that  this  new  policy  will  be  implemented  by  the 

Commission as a whole, acting  collectively. 

Part 1: Synopsis of objectives and instruments 

The  principal  objective  of  the  new  political  departure  is  reinforcement  of  the 

protection  of  consumer  health.  For  this  purpose,  food  safety  is  a  necessary 

prerequisite. Moreover, in order to restore the confidence  of the consumer and answer 

concerns over some models of production in which productivity is over emphasised, it 

is also important to protect animal and plant health and to respect animal welfare. 

Recent experience has clearly demonstrated  that food  safety  is not only of concern to 

the consumer, but is also at the very root of a proper functioning  of the market. Food 

safety  is therefore  not only a prerequisite for protecting consumer health but will also 

serve  the  interests  of  producers  and  those  involved  in  processing  and  marketing  of 

foodstuffs  and relevant agricultural products. 

To achieve these objectives  the Commission has reorganised  and intends to  reinforce 

three  complementary  instruments  which  will  serve  as  a  platform  for  an  effective 

policy for the protection of consumers and their health: scientific advice, risk analysis, 

and control. 

Scientific  advice,  on  which  the  regulatory  measures  designed  to  protect  consumer 

health  are based,  is mainly  obtained  from  the work  of the  scientific  committees.  The 

re-grouping  of these committees  and the creation of  a Scientific  Steering  Committee 

will pave the way to greater synergy and help co-ordinate their work. 

The  three  principles  which  must  be  at  the  basis  of  the  good  performance  of  the 

scientific  committees are, the excellence of their members, their independence and the 

transparency of their advice. These principles are fleshed out in the second part of this 

communication. 

The formulation of the questions put to the scientific  committees, as well as the use of 

these  committees'  advice  by  those  responsible  for  preparing  legislative  proposals, 

requires  close  collaboration  between  the  Commission's  services.  This  collaboration 

will  have  to  be  as  flexible  and  as  unbureaucratic  as  possible.  Likewise  the 

Commission  will  re-examine  the  distinction  between  mandatory  and  optional 

consultation  of  the  scientific  committees  provided  for  in  Community  legislation  in 

force. 

Risk  analysis  is a three stage process, composed  of the assessment, the  management 

and the communication  of the risk concerned, in the present  context,  risk  assessment 

allows  the  identification  and  evaluation  of  hazards  to  consumer  health,  based  on  an 

estimation of the probability  of their appearance  in  a specific  situation. The essential 

task of risk management  is to contain or reduce the level of risk identified  through the 

assessment  procedure  in  order  to  achieve  an  appropriate  level  of protection.  Finally, 

through risk communication,  information  is exchanged between the parties concerned 

on the nature of the hazard and the measures to be taken to control it. 

The  new  approach  for  control  and  inspection  will  be  based  on  the  following  three 

main  orientations:  Firstly,  in  view  of  the  wide  range  of  areas  covered  by  this 

legislation,  and  the  limited  resources  available,  risk  assessment  procedures  will  be 

introduced  to  allow  control  priorities  to  be  established.  Secondly,  control  activities 

will be reorganised  to ensure that  the whole of the food  production  chain  is properly 

covered  ("plough  to plate" approach). Thirdly, the approach will be further  developed 

through the general introduction of formal  audit procedures, to allow an assessment of 

the  control  systems  operated  by  the  competent  national  authorities  (as  is  already  the 

case in the food control sector). 

The principle  of transparency  will  guide the  activities  of the  control  services  in  their 

dealings with national authorities, consumers and all other interested parties. 

In using the three regrouped  instruments,  scientific  advice, risk analysis  and  control, 

the Commission will pay particular attention to their effectiveness  and practicability. 

The  Commission  will  ensure  a  rapid  follow-up  of  emergencies  related  to  consumer 

health.  This will  include  action  in respect  of  safeguard  measures  and the rapid  alert 

system.  Furthermore, information  supplied by consumers and producers will be dealt 

with quickly. 

Scientific  advice, risk analysis and control need to be used as the basis for action in a 

large number of fields, notably: 

the  manner  in  which  Member  States  respond  to  recommendations  made  on  the 

basis of inspection visits; 

defence  of  Community  interests  in  the  international  context  e.g.  WTO,  WHO, 

OIE and FAO; 

ensuring the respect of Community  legislation; 

and  most  importantly,  taking  account  of  the  matters  covered  by  the  three 

regrouped instruments in the preparation of Community legislation. 

Recommendations for action will thus be based on the results of scientific  advice, risk 

analysis  or  control  missions.  Moreover,  there  is  a need  to  establish  proper  feedback 

mechanisms  to  ensure  effective  liaison  between  all  interested  parties,  including 

monitoring the manner in which the recommended action is undertaken. 

The  European  Union  is  the  largest  importer  in  the  world  of  agricultural  and  food 

products  and  one  of the  largest  exporters.  In these  circumstances,  it  is  important  to 

ensure  that  our  internal  legislation  and  procedures  provide  adequate  reassurance  for 

our  trading  partners  and  that  our  exports  do  not  encounter  unjustified  restrictions  in 

gaining  access  to  the  world  market.  The  European  Union  can  draw  benefits  from 

international  agreements.  Decisions  on  food  safety  are  taken  in  the  context  of  the 

rights  and  obligations  that  flow  from  them, 

in  the  WTO,  in  other  international 

organisations  and bilaterally  (e.g. European Economic Area, Association  Agreements 

and veterinary and phytosanitary equivalency agreements). 

Part 2: Scientific Advice on Consumer Health: A proactive approach 

2.1.  Objectives and Principles 

In  matters  relating  to  the  health  of  the  consumer,  scientific  advice  is  of  the  utmost 

importance at all stages of the drawing up of new legislation and for the execution and 

management of existing legislation. This  is also the case in other areas such as animal 

health and animal welfare. The Commission  will use this advice for the benefit  of the 

consumer in order to ensure a high level of protection of health. 

As  concerns  foodstuffs,  the  objective  of  the  European 

legislative  framework  is  to 

continuously  improve the  availability  of  safe  and  wholesome  products,  by  ensuring 

that  primary  agricultural  products, finished products  and  all  intermediate  production 

processes and products are analysed and evaluated for potential risks. 

In  reviewing  its  approach  to  scientific  advice  for  consumer  health  protection  the 

Commission  will  reinforce  three  main  principles:  excellence,  independence  and 

transparency. 

Scientific  advice must be of the highest  possible  quality.  It is therefore  essential  that 

the  evaluation  of  potential  hazards  is  undertaken  by  eminent  scientists  (principle  of 

excellence). 

The  Commission  will  ensure  that  scientists  serving  in  the  scientific  bodies  are  free 

from  interests  which  may  be  in  conflict  with  the  requirement  to  give  independent 

advice  as  necessary  to  contribute  to  a  high  level  of  protection  of  consumer  health 

(principle of independence). 

In  line  with  the  overall  policy  of  transparency  operated  by  the  Commission,  it  is 

necessary 

for 

interested  parties, 

including  consumers,  both 

individuals  and 

associations,  as  well  as  for  the  Institutions  of  the  European  Union  and  the  National 

Authorities  to  have  easy  access  to  information  on  the  working  procedures  of  the 

Committees  and  to  their  advice.  In  addition,  the  Commission  will  fully  inform 

interested  parties,  including  the  consumer,  about  the  different  steps  in  the 

establishment  of this advice. Communication  is therefore  essential  in achieving  these 

objectives (principle of transparency). 

At the same time it must be recognised that scientific  advice has its limits, and its use 

can therefore  be regarded  as a major  factor,  albeit not the only  one, in the  decision 

making process. 

2.2. Scope of responsibilities 

Legislation has often,  but not systematically, made scientific  consultation  compulsory 

on matters which may have an effect  on public health.  Several  Scientific  Committees 

were  therefore  established  by  the  Commission  and  operated  by  the  Directorates-

General with the corresponding  responsibility for drafting  legislation and covered the 

areas  of  food,  veterinary  matters  (animal  health,  public  health  and  welfare), 

toxicology and ecotoxicology of chemicals, pesticides, animal nutrition and cosmetics 

and,  most  recently,  matters  linked  with  Bovine  Spongiform  Encephalopathy  within 

the  Multidisciplinary  Scientific  Committee.  A  summary  of  the  existing  mandates  is 

given in Annex I. 

Existing  Scientific  Committees  cover matters on consumer  health, animal  health  and 

welfare,  plant  health  and  environmental  health  resulting  from  certain  uses  of 

chemicals, from  production  and consumption  of food  and  feedingstuffs,  from  the  use 

of  cosmetics  or  from  use  of  chemicals  in  agricultural  practice  and  food  and 

feedingstuff  production.  For  simplicity,  these  responsibilities,  recently  attributed  to 

the  Commissioner  for  Consumer  Policy  and  Health  Protection,  will  be referred  to  as 

"consumer health"  throughout this Communication. 

On  several  occasions  in  the  past  joint  opinions  have  been  issued  by  several 

Committees  and  this  positive  experience  will  be  used  to  guide  the  Commission 

10 

services  to  set  up  a  sufficiently  flexible  structure  which  must  ensure  a  reliable, 

independent and rapid response to health concerns in order to benefit from the input of 

different  scientific  disciplines  and  to  avoid  duplication  of  effort  and  possible 

confusion where divergences of understanding occur between the Committees. 

On the basis of the new policy orientations  laid down in this Communication  and the 

recommendations  of the  European  Parliament,  the  Commission  will  revise  and  align 

all the mandates of the above mentioned  Scientific  Committees. The mandates  of  all 

Scientific  Committees  under  DG  XXIV  will  be  the  subject  of  a  single  Commission 

Decision  to  be  adopted  in  July  1997.  The  mandate  of  the  Scientific  Steering 

Committee  (previously  called  the  Multidisciplinary  Committee)  will  be  adopted 

separately in May  1997. 

2.3. Reorganisation of the work of the Scientific Committees. 

The  Commission  will  concentrate  efforts  to  build  a  reliable  and  flexible  structure 

which  shall  enable  high  quality  and  independent  scientific  advice,  to  ensure 

transparency  and  consideration  of the  scientific  advice  in the  legislative  activities  of 

the Community Institutions. 

The  requests  for  independent  scientific  advice  originate,  in  many  cases,  from  the 

obligations  in  Community  legislation.  There  are  however  several  legal  acts  on 

important matters relating to food and animal health and welfare where this advice has 

not been made compulsory. Therefore  the Commission shall examine, in co-operation 

with the  Scientific  Steering  Committee, those areas where a compulsory  consultation 

of the Scientific  Committees should be introduced. 

Most  of the  questions  for  scientific  advice  fall  clearly  within the  current  mandate  of 

one of the Scientific  Committees. However,  a particular question  may fall  within the 

competence  of  several  Committees,  so  that  its  allocation  within  a  single  Scientific 

Committee is not always obvious. Moreover, certain consultations have to involve the 

competence of several Scientific  Committees. 

11 

A  Scientific  Steering  Committee  has  therefore  been  created,  which  at  present  is 

composed of the Members of the multi-disciplinary committee and the chairpersons of 

the six other Scientific  Committees. Its mandate shall include, the co-ordination of the 

different  Committees  and  decisions  on  the  involvement  of  several  Committees  in 

questions  which  need  multiple  expertise  located  within  these  Scientific  Committees. 

The  new  Scientific  Steering  Committee  will  have  eight  members,  in  addition  to  the 

chairpersons  referred  to above.  These eight  members will  advise the Commission  in 

the selection procedure  for members of the other Committees, in particular  in respect 

of their excellence and independence. 

All  existing  Scientific  Committees  dealing  with  consumer  health  need  to  be 

maintained  although  some  of  them  need  to  be  reinforced.  In  order  to  respond 

immediately to specific  questions arising from  overlapping mandates of the  Scientific 

Committee  for  Food  and the  Scientific  Veterinary  Committee,  a joint  sub-committee 

will be set up on food  safety  questions. 

When  legislative  acts  are  based  on  the  evaluation  carried  out  by  scientists  from 

organisations  in the Member  States, a consultation  of the corresponding  Commission 

Scientific  Committees may in some cases be appropriate. The evaluation work carried 

out by these organisations  in the Member  States may  serve as a base for peer  review 

by the competent Scientific  Committee. 

Most  of  the  procedures  for  risk  assessment  of  chemical  hazards  established  by  the 

Scientific  Committees  are  in  full  accordance  with  evaluation  procedures  established 

and  used  by  both  national  or  international  bodies  such  as  the  World  Health 

Organisation.  However,  development  of  new  risk  assessment  procedures  relating  to 

areas  such  as  transmissibility  of  animal  disease  to  man  and  food-borne  diseases  is 

becoming a major  task. 

The  Commission  feels  the  need  to  have  available  at  Community  level  highly 

specialised  expertise  on  biotechnology.  Following  the  suggestion  of  the  Scientific 

12 

Steering  Committee,  a  step  by  step  approach  will  be  followed.  The  possibility  of 

establishing a specific  working group under the Scientific  Steering Committee will be 

examined.  The Commission will come back to this issue in the context of the revision 

of Directive 90/220/EEC on the deliberate release of genetically modified  organisms. 

The new mandates  will  continue to ensure that the  Scientific  Committees  may  invite 

external  experts  to  give  advice  on  specialist  questions.  The  Commission  will 

introduce  the  necessary  flexibility  and  budgetary  provisions  for  the  organisation  of 

meetings to deal with urgent matters concerning consumer health. 

2.4. The interim period. 

To  avoid  disruption  to  their  work,  and  until  the  new  mandates  of  all  Scientific 

Committees  are  adopted  by  the  Commission  in  July  1997  all  Committees  in  their 

present  composition  shall  continue  their  duties  based  on  the  existing  mandates  (cf. 

Annex  I). They  shall  continue  scheduled  meetings  including  those  of  their  working 

groups in order to respond to all existing and new requests for opinions. 

2.5 International  relationships 

The  Commission,  in  collaboration  with  Member  States,  must  maintain  an  active 

participation  in  international  fora  where  recommendations,  standards  or  guidelines 

concerning  consumer  health  are elaborated,  particularly  with  a view  to  ensuring  that 

such  recommendations,  standards  or  guidelines  have  a  sound  scientific  basis.  The 

advice  of  the  Scientific  Committees  in  these  matters  has  a  valuable  contribution  to 

make in guiding the Commission services in this work. 

As  concerns  international  trade,  the  Agreement  on  the  application  of  sanitary  and 

phytosanitary  measures  (SPS)  of  the  World  Trade  Organisation  does  not  require  its 

Members  to  change  the  level  of  protection  they  judge  to  be  appropriate.  The  SPS 

Agreement  provides,  however,  that  any  sanitary  or phytosanitary  measure  is  applied 

only to the extent necessary  to protect human, animal  or plant life  or health, is based 

on  scientific  principles  and  is  not  maintained  without  sufficient  scientific  evidence. 

13 

But  the  Member  is  free  to  decide,  on  the  basis  of  a  risk  assessment,  whether  the 

relevant  international  standard,  guideline  or  recommendation  is  sufficient  to  achieve 

the  appropriate  level  of  sanitary  or  phytosanitary  protection.  The  activities  of  the 

Scientific  Committees may therefore  include an evaluation of the scientific  principles 

upon  which  the  Community  health  standards  have  been  based.  This  evaluation  must 

take  into  account  risk  assessment  techniques  developed  by the relevant  international 

organisations. Similarly, responsibilities flowing from other international  agreements, 

notably the veterinary  and phytosanitary  equivalency agreements, may have a bearing 

on the manner in which such evaluations are undertaken. 

2.6. Changes in legislation. 

In order to implement the Commission policy concerning scientific  advice on matters 

relating to consumer health, the Commission  will propose or adopt the necessary  acts 

to introduce, where necessary, compulsory consultation of a Scientific  Committee. 

In  any  event  the  Commission  has  the  firm  intention  to  consult  the  appropriate 

Scientific  Committees  on  matters  of  particular  concern  related  to  consumer  health 

even  if  Community  legislation  does  not  yet  foresee  compulsory  consultation.  In 

certain  circumstances,  however,  including  emergency  situations  or  areas  where  the 

scientific  situation  is already clearly established, such consultation may be delayed or 

regarded as unnecessary. 

2.7. Functioning of the Committees. 

Scientific  qualification  and  competence  are  the  most  important  selection  criteria  for 

the  Members  of  the  Scientific  Committees.  The  Commission  will  ensure  that  the 

selection process is transparent vis-à-vis the European Parliament, the Member States, 

consumer  associations  and  other  interested  parties.  The  process  may  include  an 

element of "call for expression of interest". 

14 

When  appointing  committee  members  particular  attention  shall  be  paid  to  their 

independence. The Commission  will extend the existing requirements and procedures 

for declaration of interests of the members of all Scientific  Committees. 

It  may  not  always  be  possible  to  achieve  consensus  amongst  the  Members  of 

Scientific  Committees.  The  reports  of  the  scientific  evaluations  and  records  of  the 

meetings  shall  accurately  mention  the  different  views  expressed  during  evaluation. 

The  minutes  of the  meeting  of the  Scientific  Committees,  including  minority  views, 

shall  be  made  publicly  available.  Minority  views  shall  be  attributed  to  Committee 

Members only at their request. 

Subject  to  the  agreement  of  the  budgetary  authority,  the  Commission  intends  to 

attribute  an  indemnity  to  Committee  Members,  in  addition  to  the  usual  daily 

allowances  and  travel  expenses.  An  evaluation  of  the  financial  implications  is 

included in the Proposal for the Supplementary and Amending budget. 

Rapporteurs can be appointed by the Scientific  Committees. Particular attention has to 

be  paid  to  ensure  that  the  rapporteurs  are  acting  independently  from  all  socio 

economic pressure or personal interests. Since the rapporteurs have a particular task in 

gathering  information,  the  setting  up  of  data  bases  and  drafting  of  the  reports  and 

advice, they shall receive an additional  indemnity. 

The  role  of  the  secretariat  of  the  Committees  will  continue  to  be  assured  by  the 

services of the Commission, according to the rules in force. 

2.8. Co-ordination with legislative, official  control and other functions. 

Scientific  advice  is  an  essential  pre-requisite  for  legislative  proposals  or  measures 

with  a  potential  impact  on  food  safety  and  consumer  protection.  It  is  an  essential 

safeguard  and a top priority  to ensure that decisions  are taken with  full  regard  to the 

best  available  scientific  evidence.  The  Commission  re-inforces 

this  priority  in  its 

new approach towards food  safety. 

15 

At the same time and without prejudice to the important role to be given to  scientific 

advice,  it  has  to  be  acknowledged  that  there  are  some  inescapable  limitations  on  its 

role. 

In  some  cases,  there  may  be  demands  -  for  instance,  due  to  ethical  or 

environmental  considerations  or  specific  control  and  production  methods  - 

to  go 

further  in  the  area  of  the  health  protection  measures  than  the  scientific  evidence 

suggests is necessary. Conversely,  in other cases, there may be reasons to balance the 

scientific  or  identifiable  risks  with  society's  tolerance  of  the  risks  concerned  -

unhealthy  diets and  lifestyles  being  such examples.  In still  other cases, the  scientific 

advice may not be sufficiently  conclusive or complete to allow firm conclusions to be 

drawn.  Finally, scientific  advice is not infallible  and is subject  to change in the  light 

of new developments and knowledge and must therefore be kept under review. 

One of the primary  tasks  of DG XXIV  will  be to ensure  an appropriate  follow  up of 

the advice delivered by the Scientific  Committees. It will transmit the scientific  advice 

to  the  Directorates  General  in charge  of  legislation.  Where  appropriate,  it will  make 

recommendations. 

The  necessary  co-operation  between  the  services  must  work  in both  directions,  with 

other  services  and  in  particular  those  services  responsible  for  preparing  legislation 

being able to obtain scientific  advice on request. 

The  Commissioner  responsible  for  Consumer  Policy  and  Health  Protection  shall  be 

associated  with  all  legal  texts  and  proposals  on  matters  concerning  consumer  health 

on which scientific  advice is delivered. 

The Commission,  in discharging  its political responsibilities, will make use of,  where 

appropriate, scientific  advice and the results of the risk analysis. 

On the basis of the risk  assessment  from  the  Scientific  Committees, the  Commission 

shall  undertake  interactive  exchange  of  information  and  opinions  with  interested 

parties. 

16 

In  the  context  of  its  official  control  responsibilities,  the  Commission  may  request 

advice from a Scientific  Committee as a follow-up to an inspection in a Member State 

or a third country. 

Moreover,  upon  its  own  initiative,  any  Scientific  Committee  and  the  Scientific 

Steering  Committee  may  draw  the  attention  of  the  Commission  to  potential  or 

emerging hazards in relation to consumer health. 

The Risk Analysis Unit in DG XXIV shall fulfil  a forward  looking role for  identifying 

potential or emerging hazards relating to consumer health. 

DG XII, as the service responsible  for  science, research and development  policy, will 

be associated  in the activities of the scientific  committees in particular, relating to the 

definition  of  their  mandate,  the  selection  of  their  members,  the  formulation  of 

questions  to  be  posed  and  the  interpretation  of  the  scientific  advice.  The  Joint 

Research  Centre, as the independent  scientific  body  of the  Commission, will  provide 

support  to  the  Scientific  Committees,  in  particular  with  supplementary  data  and 

laboratory  assistance  to  verify  and  complete  information  presented  to  the  Scientific 

Committees  by external  parties.  Any relevant  results obtained  under the  Community 

specific  research programmes will be made available to the Scientific  Committees. 

The  Commission  will  also  rely  on  scientific  data  generated  by  Member  States  under 

the arrangements for scientific  co-operation established by Directive 93/5/EEC. 

2.9. Public Credibility. 

Consumer  confidence  in the  legislative  activities  of the  European  Union  with  regard 

to food  and animal  health  and welfare  is conditioned  by the quality  and  transparency 

of the scientific  advice and its use in the legislative and control processes. 

17 

Widest  possible  access  to  the  scientific  advice  will  be  guaranteed.  The  agenda, 

minutes and opinions of the Scientific  Committees will be made available  to Member 

States,  particularly 

the  health  authorities,  the  European  Parliament,  citizens, 

consumers  and  consumer  associations,  producers  and  their  associations  and  other 

socio-economic  operators,  bearing 

in  mind  the  need  to  respect  commercial 

confidentiality.  Efforts  shall  be  made  to  present  information  in  a  form  which  is 

readily  understood  by  laymen.  The  opinions  of  the  Scientific  Committees  shall  be 

released shortly after  adoption and made available on the Internet. 

The  Commission  will  organise  regular presentations  to  interested  parties  such  as  the 

European  Parliament,  Member  States  and  consumers.  Special  information  sessions 

shall be held with journalists. 

18 

Part 3: Risk analysis 

Risk  analysis  is  a  systematic  procedure  comprising  the  scientific  evaluation  of 

hazards  and the  probability  of  their  emergence  in  a  given  context  (risk  assessment), 

the  assessment  of all  measures  making  it possible  to  achieve  an  appropriate  level  of 

protection  (risk  management),  and  the  exchange  of  information  with  all  the  parties 

concerned:  decision-makers,  inspectors, consumers  and producers  in order to  explain 

the reasons and to justify  the management measures proposed (risk communication). 

Risk  analysis  comes  within  the  remit  of  the  Commission.  These  activities  will 

comprise  tasks  falling  within  the  competence  of  the  different  Directorates  General 

responsible  for  scientific  advice,  for  the  preparation  of  legislative  proposals  and  for 

control. Close collaboration  and coordination  between these departments  is necessary 

for the performance  of risk analysis.  In order to achieve a high level of protection the 

Commission  will  prepare  legislative  proposals  or  adopt  measures.  The  depth  of  the 

risk analysis undertaken will reflect the nature of the hazard  identified. 

Risk  assessment  forms  the  foundation  of  scientific  advice  with  regard  to  consumer 

health.  Scientific  risk assessment  offers  the Commission  a sound basis for  proposals 

and measures in the field of consumer health  and  food  safety.  The Commission  will 

aim, where appropriate, to ensure that  risk  assessments  are made  in accordance  with 

any  internationally  agreed  procedures.  This  would  give  a  basis  for  the  defence  of 

Community  legislation  based  on  such  risk  assessments  in  the  event  that  it  is 

challenged  under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules or in the European Court of 

Justice. 

Concerning  risk  management,  the Commission  will  take  into account  available  risk 

assessments  as  well  as the  recommendations  transmitted  by  the  Directorate  General 

responsible for scientific  advice to the Directorate General responsible for preparation 

of  legislation.  Risk  management  shall  include  the process  of assessing  the  impact  of 

policy alternatives in the light of the results of risk assessment and the desired level of 

protection. 

19 

Risk  communication  must  be  as  transparent  as  possible.  To  achieve 

this,  the 

Commission  will assure the widest possible  access to  scientific  advice, and will  also 

fully  inform  all  interested  parties,  including  consumers,  of  the  different  steps  of  its 

development.  This will include information  on the reasons and the scientific  grounds 

for  proposals  as  well  as  exchange  of  information  with  interested  parties  at  all 

appropriate  stages.  Consumer  concerns  in  relation  to  possible  health  risks  will  be 

taken  into account  during  the process  of risk  analysis  which will be implemented  by 

the Commission. 

The risk  analysis thus defined  in respect  of  the protection  of consumer health  must 

enable the Commission to play an interface role between the scientific  community and 

the political world and other elements of civil society. Here it is useful  to recall that -

since, 

there  is  no  such  thing  as  "zero  risk"  -  information  on  the  level  of  risk  is 

essential for the consumer.  The Commission will be guided in its risk analysis by the 

precautionary  principle,  in  cases  where  the  scientific  basis  is  insufficient  or  some 

uncertainty exists. 

The  Commission  will,  on  matters  relating  to  consumer  health,  and  in  close 

collaboration  with  the  Member  States, undertake  a  surveillance  role  on  emerging  or 

new  hazards  connected  with  developments  in  agricultural  and  industrial  production, 

including  data  collection  on possible  risks. These  activities  will  aim to  identify  new 

hazards  and  to  anticipate  rather  than  react  to  situations  in  proposing  strategies  for 

action for scientific research or surveillance measures. These activities will require the 

establishment  of  a  network  of  a  wide  variety  of  disciplines  and  close  collaboration 

between the services of the Commission. 

20 

PART 4:  CONTROL AND INSPECTION -  A NEW APPROACH 

4.1  Objectives 

Mission statement 

The  Food  and  Veterinary  Office  (FVO)  will  have  as  its  principal  missions  the 
monitoring  of  the  observance  of  food  hygiene2,  veterinary  and  plant  health 

legislation within the European Union and elsewhere, and to contribute  towards 

the  maintenance  of  confidence  in  the  safety  of  food  offered  to  the  European 

consumer. 

Responsibility 

for 

the 

implementation  of  Community 

food  veterinary  and 

phytosanitary  legislation  rests with Member  States. The  Commission,  acting  through 
its control services3 in DG XXIV, monitors the manner in which they undertake these 

responsibilities. In the veterinary  and phytosanitary  sector, this is carried  out through 

a  programme  of  inspection  and  control  missions  to  monitor  the  performance  of  the 

competent  authorities,  including  on-the-spot  inspections  of  individual  establishments 

in  both  Member  States  and  third  countries.  These  may  include  direct  interventions, 

such  as  the  collection  of  samples  for  phytosanitary  checks,  in  Member  States  in 

certain  circumstances.  As  indicated  in  this  paper,  it  is  proposed  to  develop  this 

approach  through  the  introduction,  where  possible,  of  formal  audit  procedures  to 

allow  the performance  of  the  competent  authorities  to  be  assessed.  In  doing  so, this 

will bring inspection techniques in the veterinary  and phytosanitary  sectors more into 

line with those already  in use in the food  control  sector.  Priority  will  be given to the 

need  to  ensure  that  high  levels  of  consumer,  animal  and  plant  health  and  animal 

welfare  protection  are  being  achieved.  However,  it  must  be  recognised  that  the 

2 

3 

as defined  in Article  2, Council  Directive  93/43/EEC  of  14 June  1993: "food  hygiene 
mean  all measures  necessary  to ensure the safety  and wholesomeness  of  foodstuffs" 

shall 

comprising  the  Food  and  Veterinary  Office,  and  a  food  control  section,  transferred  from  DG  III, 
where  it  monitored  and evaluated  the equivalence  and effectiveness  of official  food  control  systems 
operated by the competent  authorities of the Member  States 

21 

achievement  of  these  objectives  will  be  dependent  upon  sufficient  resources  being 

made  available  to  the  Commission  services  to  carry  out  the  full  range  of  their 

proposed duties. 

4.2 

Scope of responsibilities 

The control  services will undertake the food,  veterinary  and phytosanitary  inspection 

and  control  responsibilities  required  of  the  Commission  in  the  relevant  Community 

legislation, particularly that listed in Annex II. 

In  addition,  a possible  future  expansion  of  the  activities  of  the  control  services  into 

additional areas of concern to consumers, or where existing controls could usefully  be 

rationalised, will be considered. This question  will be discussed with interested parties, 

with a view to identifying  any necessary action to achieve this goal. 

The Commission  will aim to ensure that the responsibility  of the control  services  for 

the  control  of  the  manner  in  which  Community  food  hygiene,  veterinary  and 

phytosanitary legislation  is operated is formally  recognised in respect of both existing 

and future  legislation. 

The  control  services  will  be  fully  consulted  on  the  development  of  veterinary, 

phytosanitary  and food  legislation as, in many cases, their expertise will be needed to 

ensure  that  legislative  proposals  are  properly  informed  by  the  situation  in  Member 

States  and  third  countries.  The  findings  of  the  control  services  will  be  widely 

disseminated to other concerned services within the Commission, so that they are kept 

fully  informed  of any developments. 

An  internal  administrative  operations  manual  will  be  developed  to  establish  the 

detailed  rules to be followed  in dealings between the control  services and other parts 

of  the  Commission  (including  UCLAF  in  relation  to  suspect  frauds)  and  other  EU 

institutions 

22 

Close  contacts  will  also  be  developed  with  consumer  groups  and  socio  economic 

operators to ensure that they are kept fully  informed of developments (see section 8). 

4.3 

Improved use of existing control and inspection resources 

The  issues  raised  by  the  Parliament's  Committee  of  Inquiry  will  not  simply  be 

resolved  by  the  transfer  of  existing  control  and  inspection  resources  to  DG  XXIV. 

However, operational  improvements  in the veterinary  and phytosanitary  sectors have 

been initiated by: 

the  establishment  of  inspection  priorities,  taking  into  account  the  need  to  meet 

legislative  commitments,  through  an  informal  risk  assessment  procedure.  This 

will  include  an  assessment  of  risk  both  on  a  country  or  regional  basis,  e.g. 

geography,  climate,  health  situation,  competence  of  official  services,  previous 

trade  problems  etc,  and  for  individual  production  sectors,  e.g.  husbandry 

practices,  presence  of  zoonoses,  types  of  treatment  and  use  of  hazard  analysis 

critical control point (HACCP) techniques in processing establishments, previous 

inspection reports etc 

the  development  and  introduction  of  an  inspection  approach  which  follows  the 

whole  of  the  food  production  chain,  and  all  parts  of  the  plant  health  sector, 

through  the  use  of  multi-disciplinary,  expert,  inspection  teams,  each  with  a 

nominated  team leader, with responsibility  for all aspects of food production  and 

plant health in specified  geographical areas. 

These  changes  will  allow  the  best  use  of  existing  veterinary  and  phytosanitary 

resources, whilst confirming  that the control  services are committed to developing an 

effective  system  of  consumer  protection.  They  will  form  the  basis  for  the  future 

activities  of  the  control  services.  It  must,  however,  be  recognised  that  any  routine 

inspection  programme  will  be  subject  to  the  over-riding  need  to  respond  to 

emergencies. 

23 

The  food  control  section  will  continue  the  development  and  operation  of  existing 

audit-based procedures  for monitoring and evaluating official  food control  systems in 

Member  States. As  at present, these  will  include  controls  over  the  manner  in  which 

rules for the prevention of economic fraud, e.g. mislabelling and misrepresentation of 

food quality, are operated. 

As indicated above, the need to respond to emergencies will  continue to be given the 

highest priority by the control services. Sufficient  resources will be made available for 

these  activities,  even  where  this  has  an  impact  on  more  routine  work.  Inspectors, 

specially  trained  in  epidemiology  and  disease  outbreak  control  techniques,  will  be 

used to form temporary units to investigate such emergencies. 

Inspection  programmes  will  be  prepared  in  close  co-operation  with  the  relevant 

Commission legislative  services, and will take full  account of the principles outlined 

above.  These  services  will  also  be  able  to  propose  areas  for  control  or  inspection 

activities  to the  control  services.  At the  same  time  it  is  necessary  to  recognise that 

certain  specific  control  and inspection  responsibilities  are  laid  down  in  Community 

legislation,  and  that  these  will  have  to  be  taken  into  account  in  developing  the 

programmes. 

The above actions will help to allow potential or actual health problems to be rapidly 

identified,  and  socio-economic  operators  and  consumers  given  early  warning  of 

hazard  identification.  It  will  also  ensure  that  the  work  of  the  control  services  is 

integrated into the overall goals of the Commission. 

Standard  procedures  for  the  performance  of  inspections,  and  the  subsequent 

presentation  of  findings  through  standardised  report  proformas,  will  be  developed. 

Close  working  links  will  be  maintained  with  the  legislative  services  and  formal 

administrative procedures established  for these contacts. As part of the  administrative 

operations  manual  described  earlier,  procedures  for  the  submission  of  inspection 

reports and recommendations  for  action by the control  services, and  for  responses by 

24 

the legislative  services, will be established  through agreement between the  interested 

parties. 

Following the transfer  of the Office  to Ireland, a liaison section will be established  in 

Brussels,  to  ensure  that  effective  contact  can  be  maintained  with  the  Office,  and  to 

provide an initial inquiry point. 

4.4 

Need for reinforcement of resources 

The  Inspectorate  General  Service  (IGS)  of  the  Commission  has  reported  on  the 

reinforcement  of  resources  needed  to  allow  the  proposed  expansion  of  the  control 

services  to  take  place.  A  detailed  account,  based  on the  IGS  report,  of  the  resource 

requirements  for  the  full  and  effective  implementation  of  this  reorganisation  is 

submitted to the budgetary  authorities, in the form  of a supplementary  and  amending 

budget 

To  respond  to  this  need,  it  is  proposed  that  the  recruitment  process  be  initiated  as 

quickly  as possible. Priority  will be given  in the first instance to filling the  inspector 

posts, so that training of these staff  can begin without  delay. The recruitment  process 

should  be  completed  within  a  short  time  scale,  to  bring  staff  numbers  to  the  level 

where the Office  can begin to take up the full  range of its duties. 

Sufficient  support in terms of human, financial,  informatics  and equipment  resources 

will have to be provided to ensure the efficient  operation of the control services. 

4.5 

Subsidiarity, improvements in performance,  control excellence 

The  control  services  will  develop  and  introduce  as  quickly  as  possible,  transparent 

operational  systems, including a Manual of Procedures, so that Member State national 

authorities, the European  Parliament,  citizens, consumers and consumer  associations, 

producers  and producer  associations  and other  socio-economic  operators  can be  kept 

informed  of their activities.  In addition, they will discharge  their  responsibilities  in a 

manner  that  respects  the  different  roles  attributed  to  the  Commission  and  national 

authorities in the implementation of the relevant Community  legislation. 

25 

An  integral  part  of  this  approach  in the  veterinary  and  phytosanitary  sectors  will  be 

the  development  by  the  control  services  of  formal  risk  assessment  procedures  and 

audit  systems,  in  support  of the  production  chain  controls  described  earlier.  A  small 

expert  group will be established  as quickly  as possible within the control  services  so 

that an in-depth study of the action necessary to introduce these two new elements can 

be initiated. In conjunction  with the risk analysis unit in DG XXIV, it will identify  the 

elements to be taken  into account  in the risk  assessment  procedure, develop a hazard 

weighting  system,  and  identify  priorities  for  targeting  by  the  control  services.  In 

addition,  it  will  develop  suitable  audit  procedures,  and  inspection  and  report 

protocols, for use in Member States and third countries, supported by the development 

of  a  system  for  establishing  agreed  corrective  procedures  in  respect  of  deficiencies 

identified.  The  Manual  of  Procedures  will  be  developed  to  ensure  that  these  actions 

are implemented in a harmonised and transparent manner. 

The measured introduction of this new approach, based on: 

controls over the whole food, animal and plant production chains 

formal risk assessment procedures to identify  control priorities 

audit systems to monitor competent authority  performance 

will ensure the most cost effective  use of resources, whilst respecting the principles of 

transparency  and  subsidiarity.  It  will  also  allow  the  operation  of  equivalency 

agreements, where the control services will be responsible for monitoring compliance, 

in both Member States and third countries. These developments will also be  reflected 

in the reinforcement  and expansion  of the food  control  section to allow it to carry out 

its auditing  activities  in respect  of official  food  control  systems  in Member  States  in 

an effective  manner. 

The overall  goal  will  be to provide  a harmonised  approach  to  control  and  inspection 

activities  for  all  parts  of  the  food  production  chain,  through  a  managed  programme 

based  upon  the  careful  targeting  of  inspection  and  control  resources.  Sufficient 

financial, expertise  and  personnel  resources  must  be made  available  if this  goal  is to 

26 

be  achieved.  However,  it  must  be  emphasised  that  no  control  system  can  offer  zero 

risk in terms of consumer health protection. 

Close links will be maintained with the scientific  committees to ensure that  inspection 

and  control  activities  are  kept  informed  of  the  most  recent  developments  in  the 

relevant fields. 

A wide-ranging training programme to equip staff with the skills necessary to face the 

challenges posed by the expansion of the inspection and control services will be given 

a high priority. With a view to promoting a common approach to controls in the  food, 

veterinary  and plant health  sectors, the involvement  of inspection  staff  from  Member 

States, the European Economic Area and Associated Countries will be encouraged. 

In  order  to  enhance  controls  over  food  safety  and  quality  standards,  and  over 

compliance  with  veterinary  and  phytosanitary  legislative  requirements,  the  control 

services  will,  as  far  as  possible,  act  in  partnership  with  the  Community's  own 

laboratories (Joint Research Centre) in the collection of samples, e.g. for  biochemical 

checks  of  foodstuffs.  This  control  function  will  be  developed  by  the  Joint  Research 

Centre in conjunction  with the Community network of national research centres. 

A  detailed  examination  of  the  benefits  of  applying  an  externally  audited  quality 

control  system  (e.g.  EN  45004)  to  the  management  of  the  control  services  will  be 

undertaken.  Such  a  system  would  demonstrate  the  Commission's  commitment  to 

openness  in  the  operation  of  these  services,  and  ensure  that  their  management  was 

based  upon  the  most  up-to-date  principles.  This  was  proposed  by  the  Parliament's 

Committee of Inquiry in respect of a future  Agency, but it is considered appropriate to 

consider whether such a system could usefully  be applied to the existing services. 

An  inspector  will  be  posted  to  each  of  a  small  number  of  EU  delegations  in  certain 

third  countries,  to  ensure  that  the  Office  can  fulfil  its  mission  in  the  most  cost-

effective  and  efficient  manner.  It  will  also  be  necessary  for  a  contact  point  to  be 

27 

established  for  dealing  with  these  offices  and  with  third  country  authorities,  outside 

organisations etc. 

4.6 

Towards a Quality Assurance function 

As  part  of  its  commitment  to  consumer  protection,  an  expansion  of  the  role  of  the 

Commission's  control  services  to  include  the  monitoring  of  food  quality  assurance 

systems at both Community and national level will be considered. These are important 

areas for  consumers, and a careful  analysis, including  consultation  with all  interested 

parties,  of  the  consequences  for  the  involvement  of  the  control  services  will  be 

undertaken.  It will be important that any  input  into these fields supplements the  core 

health protection functions  of the control services. 

4.7 

Independence 

This  concern  will  continue  to  be  taken  fully  into  account  during  recruitment  of 

inspection  staff  into  the  control  services,  and  to  receive  due  emphasis  in  their 

introductory  training.  In  this  context,  the  Staff  Regulations  of  the  European 

Commission, to which  all inspectors are subject,  clearly establish the principle of the 

independence of officials  of the European  Commission. 

The ability of the control services to perform  their duties and to present their findings 

free from external influence will continue to be given the highest priority. 

The Commission  recalls that  it submitted  a proposal  to Council  in May  1996 for  the 

establishment  of  a  Veterinary  and  Phytosanitary  Inspection  Agency.  In 

the 

Commission's  view,  efforts  to  establish  an  independent  Agency  should  continue.  In 

the  light of recent  developments  and reactions from  the European  Parliament  and  the 

Council, and on the basis of a proper, in-depth, analysis of the best way forward,  the 

Commission  will  review  the  existing  proposal.  In  performing  this  review,  the 

Commission  will  ensure  that  the  Parliament  and  Council  are  closely  involved,  and 

that  the comments of the Parliament's  Committee of Inquiry  into BSE are taken  into 

account. 

28 

4.8  Confidence built upon  transparency 

The  problems  experienced  because  of the  BSE  crisis have  demonstrated  the  need  to 

involve  in  a  more  open  fashion  consumers  and  producers  in  all  aspects  of  food 

production.  The  Commission,  by  bringing  together  the  existing  inspection  services 

under  a  single  Directorate  General,  with  specific  responsibilities  for  consumer 

interests  and  health  protection,  and  through  the  action  outlined  in  this  paper,  is 

contributing  to  this  objective.  To  reinforce  this  undertaking,  a  number  of  initiatives 

are proposed: 

clear  procedures,  which  will  ultimately  be  published,  will  be  established  for 

external  contacts  between  the  control  services  and  all  interested  parties  in  the 

food, veterinary and plant health sectors. 

through  the  publication  of  regular  reports,  consumers,  producers,  other  socio 

economic operators, scientists  and other outside organisations will have a right of 

access to the findings  and activities of the control services, subject  to the need to 

respect commercial  confidentiality. 

members  of  the  public  will  have  direct  access  to  the  control  services  through 

widely publicised telephone, fax and e-mail contact numbers. An Internet site will 

provide  up-to-date  information  on  the  activities  of  the  control  services.  Audio 

visual and printed information  will also be made available. 

the  control  services  will  extend  the  existing  emergency  information  system  to 

give  Member  States  (notably  the  health  authorities),  the  European  Parliament, 

citizens,  consumers  and  consumer  associations,  producers  and  producer 

associations  and  other  socio-economic  operators 

the  maximum  possible 

information  on  the  identification  of  hazards,  disease  outbreaks  and  related 

emergencies. 

29 

links  will  be  established  with  consumers  and  socio-economic  operators  so  that 

mutual  understanding  can  be  developed,  and  in  order  to  encourage  a  two-way 

flow of information  on food hygiene and related matters. For example, consumers 

will be invited to give their views on food hygiene and quality matters, so that the 

control services can be properly informed  of their concerns. 

an outline programme of missions to be undertaken by the control services will be 

presented  to  the  regulatory  committees  on  a  regular  basis  and  made  freely 

available to other inquirers. 

30 

ANNEX î 

PRESENT MANDATES OF THE EXISTING  SCIENTIFIC  COMMITTEES 

MULTI-DISCIPLINARY  SCIENTIFIC  COMMITTEE  (MDSC), 

Established by Commission decision establishing the committee (SEC(96)  1137). The 
main objectives are: 

• 

• 

to ensure that scientific  advice on BSE given to the Commission takes into 
account the widest possible range of expertise; 

to provide a mechanism to obtain scientific  advice from a single highly  qualified 
committee for an issue which affects  areas of competence of several DGs 

SCIENTIFIC  COMMITTEE  ON  COSMETOLOGY 

The Scientific  Committee on Cosmetology was established by Commission Decision 
n°78/45/EEC of 19.12.1977: 

The drawing up and amendment of the community rules governing the composition, 
manufacturing  characteristics, packaging and labelling of cosmetic products involve 
the examination of scientific  and technical problems of considerable complexity. 

The objective of the Committee is to assist the Commission on any problem of a 
scientific or technical nature in the field of cosmetic products. 

SCIENTIFIC  COMMITTEE  ON  PESTICIDES 

The Committee was established by Commission Decision  78/436/EEC.  The SCP 
may be consulted on scientific and technical questions relating to the marketing and 
use of plant protection products (pesticides use in agriculture).  This includes: 

•  physical and chemical properties; 

• 

• 

fate and behaviour in the environment; 

ecotoxicology; 

•  mammalian toxicology including operator exposure and  safety; 

• 

• 

residues in food and animal  feed; 

efficacy 

31 

SCIENTIFIC VETERINARY  COMMITTEE 

The Committee was established by Commission Decision 81/651/EEC. 

The Committee may be consulted by the Commission on all scientific and technical 
problems concerning : 

•  Animal Health 

•  Veterinary Public Health 

•  Animal  Welfare 

The Committee has 3 Sections corresponding to the fields indicated below. The 
Section concerned with Animal Health questions shall examine in particular problems 
concerning the cause, nature, pathogenesis, effects,  diagnosis, epidemiology, 
prophylasis and therapy of animal disease, including zoonoses, and with the 
morphology, physiology and reproduction of healthy animals and with problems of 
animal health in general. 

The Section concerned with Veterinary Public Health questions shall examine in 
particular veterinary measures for the protection of the health of humans and hygiene 
conditions for the production, processing, handling and marketing of foodstuffs  of 
animal origin and for the inspection of foodstuffs  relative to the fixing of minimum 
criteria of wholesomeness and hygiene during processing, storage, distribution and 
preparation. 

The Section concerned with Animal Welfare questions shall examine in particular 
measures to ensure the protection of animals, especially those relating to animal 
rearing, management, transport, slaughter and experimentation. 

The Committee may draw the attention of the Commission to any problems in the 
above areas. 

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE FOR TOXICITY AND ECOTOXICITY OF 
CHEMICAL  COMPOUNDS 

Mandate of this committee is established by the Commission Decision 78/618/EEC as 
lastly modified  by Commission Decision 88/241/EEC and states: 
"To supply the Commission with opinions, at the latter's request, on all matters 
relating to the examination of the toxicity and ecotoxicity of those chemical 
compounds the use of which is liable to have detrimental effect  on human health and 
on the various environmental media". 

32 

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE FOR ANIMAL NUTRITION 
The mandate is established in Commission Decision 76/791/EEC and reads as  follows 
1.  The Committee may be consulted by the Commission on scientific  and technical 
questions relating to the nutrition and health of animals and to the quality and 
wholesomeness of products of animal origin.  In particular, the committee may be 
consulted on questions concerning the composition of feedingstuffs,  processes 
which are liable to modify  feedingstuffs,  additives, and substances and products 
which may be considered undesirable in  feedingstuffs. 

2.  The Committee may draw the attention of the Commission to any such problem. 

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE FOR FOOD 
The SCF was established by a Commission Decision in  1974 which was replaced by 
Decision 95/273/EC.  Its mandate is given in Article 2 of that Decision : 
•  The Committee shall be consulted by the Commission whenever a legal act 
requires so (this currently relates to seven Community framework  acts and 
provides the basis for most of the SCF's work). 

•  The Committee may be consulted by the Commission on any other problem 

relating to the protection of the health and safety  of persons arising or likely to 
arise from  the consumption of food. 

The Committee may draw to the attention of the Commission to any such problem. 

33 

ANNEX II 

MAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTS CURRENTLY REQUIRING THE 
COMMISSION TO MONITOR OR CONTROL THE MANNER IN WHICH 
THEY ARE RESPECTED IN MEMBER STATES OR THIRD COUNTRIES 

NB. All acts are Council Directives unless indicated otherwise. 

Veterinary 

Trade and general 

72/461/EEC 
72/462/EEC 
80/215/EEC 
89/662/EEC 
90/425/EEC 

90/424/EEC 
90/675/EEC 
91/496/EEC 
92/65/EEC 
92/117/EEC 
92/118/EEC 
96/43/EC 
96/93/EC 
96/239/EC 

(health controls on intra-Community trade in fresh meat) 
(third country - live animals, fresh meat, meat products) 
(health controls on intra-Community trade in meat products) 
(veterinary checks for animal products in intra-community trade) 
(veterinary checks for live animals and  products in intra-community 
trade) 
(Council Decision - expenditure in the veterinary field.) 
(veterinary checks on products from third countries) 
(veterinary checks on live animals from third countries) 
(animals, semen, ova, embryos not in other Community  legislation) 
(zoonoses) 
(animal products covered by other Community  legislation) 
(financing  of veterinary inspections and controls) 
(certification  of animals and animal products) 
(Commission Decision on BSE emergency  measures) 

Live animals and live animal products, e.g. semen, ova, embryos 

(intra-Community trade in cattle and pigs) 
(control of classical swine  fever) 

64/432/EEC 
80/217/EEC 
80/1095/EEC  (conditions for freedom  from classical swine fever) 
85/511 /EEC 
92/3 5/EEC 
92/40/EEC 
92/66/EEC 
92/119/EEC 
91/68/EEC 
90/426/EEC 
90/539/EEC 
88/407/EEC 
89/556/EEC 
90/429/EEC 
90/667/EEC 
91/67/EEC 
93/53/EEC 
95/70/EC 

(foot  and mouth disease) 
(African  horse sickness) 
(avian  influenza) 
(Newcastle disease) 
(certain animal diseases, including swine vesicular disease) 
(ovine and caprine animals) 
(equidae) 
(poultry and hatching eggs) 
(deep-frozen  semen of domestic animals of the bovine species) 
(bovine embryos) 
(porcine semen) 
(disposal and processing of animal waste) 
(aquaculture animals and their products) 
(control of certain fish diseases) 
(bivalve molluscs) 

34 

Animal products, e.g. meat milk, game etc 

64/433/EEC 
77/96/EEC 
77/99/EEC 
71/118/EEC 
91 /494/EEC 
91/495/EEC 
92/45/EEC 
94/65/EC 
86/469/EEC 
88/146/EEC 
92/22/EC 
96/23/EC 

89/437/EEC 
92/46/EEC 
91 /492/EEC 
91/493/EEC 
95/408/EC 
97/198/EC 
97/199/EC 

(fresh  meat) 
(trichinellosis testing) 
(meat products) 
(poultry meat) 
(fresh poultry meat) 
(rabbit meat and farmed  game meat) 
(wild game meat) 
(minced meat and meat preparations) 
(residues testing programmes - valid until 1.7.97) 
(hormonal substances - valid until 1.7.97) 
(thyrostats, hormones ban - from  1.7.97) 
(residues testing programmes - from  1.7.97) 

(egg products) 
(milk and milk based products) 
(live bivalve molluscs) 
(fishery  products) 
(Council Decision, prelisting of establishments) 
(Commission Decision. Imports of processed animal protein) 
(Commission Decision. Imports of petfoods) 

Animal welfare and zootechnics 

88/166/EEC 
91/628/EEC 
91/629/EEC 
91/630/EEC 
93/119/EEC 
94/28/EEC 
embryos) 

(laying hens kept in battery cages) 
(protection of animals during transport) 
(protection of calves) 
(protection of pigs) 
(protection of animals at slaughter) 
(zootechnical rules for importation of animals, sperm, ova and 

Foodstuffs  controls 

89/397/EEC 
93/43/EEC 
93/99/EEC 

(official  control of  foodstuffs) 
(hygiene of  foodstuffs) 
(official  control of  foodstuffs) 

35 

Plant health 

69/464/EEC 
(Potato Wart Disease) 
69/465/EEC 
(Potato Cyst Eelworm) 
74/647/EEC 
(Carnation  leaf-rollers) 
93/85/EEC 
(Potato ring rot) 
(organisms harmful  to plants or plant products) 
77/93/EEC 
2251/92/EEC  (Commission Regulation on quality inspection of fresh  fruit and 

92/70/EEC 
92/76/EEC 

vegetables) 
(Commission Directive on recognition of protected zones) 
(Commission Directive on protected zones exposed to particular health 
risks) 
(Commission Directive on the registration of producers and importers) 
(Commission Directive on plant passports) 
(Commission Directive on the specification of certain plants) 
(Commission Directive on movement of plants in protected zones) 
(Commission Directive on interception of harmful  organisms) 
(Commission Directive on movement of harmful  organisms and plants) 

92/90/EEC 
92/105/EEC 
93/50/EEC 
93/51 /EEC 
94/3/EC 
95/44/EC 
3 763/91/EEC  (Council Regulation - agricultural products ref French overseas 

departments) 

1600/92/EEC  (Council Regulation - agricultural products ref.Azores and Madeira) 

36 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(97) 183 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

05  10  15 

Catalogue number  :  CB-CO-97-202-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-19575-8 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European  Communities 

L-2985 Luxembourg 

3}