Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the "Commission Proposal for a Regulation laying down the general principles of food law, establishing the European Food Authority, and laying down procedures in matters of food"
Date: 2001-06-14
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: agricultural product, foodstuff, foodstuffs legislation, product safety

C 357/22

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

14.12.2001

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Commission Proposal for a Regulation laying
down the general principles of food law, establishing the European Food Authority, and laying
down procedures in matters of food’

(2001/C 357/05)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council laying down
the general principles of food law, establishing the European Food Authority, and laying down procedures
in matters of food (COM(2000) 716 final — 2000/0286 COD);

having regard to the Council decision of 22 December 2000, under Articles 265(1) and 152 of the Treaty
establishing the European Community, to consult it on this matter;

having regard to the decision of its Bureau on 13 June 2000 to instruct Commission 5 for Social Policy,
Public Health, Consumer Protection, Research and Tourism to prepare the Committee’s work on this
subject;

having regard to the draft Opinion (CdR 64/2001 rev.) adopted by Commission 5 on 19 April 2001
(rapporteur: Mrs Haijanen, FIN-PPE),

unanimously adopted the following opinion at its 39th plenary session on 13 and 14 June 2001 (meeting
of 14 June).

Views and recommendations of the Committee of the
Regions

4.
The setting up of a European Food Authority is to be
welcomed, as the Community must be able to base its food
law on scientific expertise. Such an authority must be impartial
and function transparently.

Over the last

1.
few years serious doubts have been
expressed about food safety in Europe. At their worst, crises
such as those over dioxins and BSE, have undermined the
European Community’s general credibility. The Commission’s
proposal establishes an important framework for improving
food safety. It is important that the starting point for food and
feed law should be the protection of human health.

The general and common principles clarify the existing
2.
legislation on feeds and food, and has evolved over a forty-
year period from what are partly contradictory objectives.
Both food business operators and surveillance authorities have
therefore encountered problems in applying Community and
national legislation.

5.
The food sector is characterised by small businesses and
operators. Farms, retail outlets and restaurants in Europe are
generally small undertakings. Even food processing is still
largely carried out by small- or medium-sized companies. Food
legislation should therefore take account of the special nature
of traditional products which are important in some areas and
regions. New regulations should not jeopardise these products
as they help maintain cultural diversity in the EU. The local
and regional level therefore has a key role to play in ensuring
food safety.

3.
The proposal emphasises the importance of the entire
food supply chain from farm and river to the table. Food law
is concerned with basic principles and requirements for placing
food on the market and ensuring that food supplied to
consumers is safe. This is why it is equally important for
primary production, including feed, to be subject to controls.

6.
The proposal assigns responsibility for food and feed
safety to producers. This is sensible, as producers themselves
know best which stages of the food production process they
are responsible for. The principle included in the legislation is
designed to remind operators of this responsibility.

14.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 357/23

7.
Although common principles can and should be laid
down for European food law, local and regional players must
be left sufficient room for manoeuvre. Food production is an
area in which Europe has strong local traditions. Regionally
produced food products also have a major impact on employ-
ment and other economic factors. For example, the production
and consumption of food locally helps to save energy and
It also helps to improve the
limit
quality of food by avoiding delays resulting from storage and
transportation.

transportation costs.

8.
There are differences within Europe with regard to the
occurrence of food risks. These differences relate to climate, as
well as the forms, methods and traditions of production. In
some regions efforts may have been made over many years to
eliminate food risks. Achievements of this kind must not be
jeopardised when, for example, animals or food are transported
between regions.

9.
The local aspect of food production and distribution
must be taken into account so that the general principles of
food safety — such as the requirement for safe food — are not
undermined. High quality and safe food production is also of
benefit to producers, as good quality food products can also
be sold in markets other than local ones. Artificial barriers
should not therefore be erected against the sale of food from
regional or small-scale producers. Insofar as a given food and
its production methods comply with the general objectives of
the legislation, the product should be allowed to be sold
throughout the Community.

10.
The local dimension of food safety and role of small-
scale producers pose a significant challenge from the surveil-
lance perspective. Whatever the basis of these controls —
local or an approved private system —
whether national,
controls will only work if they are implemented locally. For
the implementation of the legislation to be credible, checks
must take place regularly. Local inspectors have a key role to
play in this respect. The Commission has said that it will draw
up a proposal for a regulation on the control of foodstuffs
during 2001. Member States should ensure that sufficient
resources are available for local inspections and, if necessary,
increase them. In order to ensure that the inspections are as
uniform as possible, there must be coordination at Member
State and Community level.

Brussels, 14 June 2001.

11.
It is essential that all foodstuffs imported from third
countries, whether for human or animal consumption, comply
with European food legislation and are inspected using ident-
ical methods and procedures. This will ensure EU producers
do not have to cope with unfair competition.

The principles outlined in the proposal also apply to
12.
local surveillance authorities. However, good principles must
not make the system unworkable. The idea of basing decision-
making on scientific risk assessment,
in other words risk
management, can rarely be fully implemented with local
Inspectors should be able to rely on
authority resources.
common sense based on their particular expertise. Hence,
scientific risk assessment should in particular be carried out by
the new European Food Authority.

13.
The proposal also lays down general provisions on
special food-related cases, such as food poisoning. Incidents of
this kind usually occur locally. Even far-reaching, cross-border
epidemics or crises often begin locally. This is why local action
and effective cooperation between different authorities and
food business operators is crucial in order to prevent and
manage crisis situations.

The Committee suggests reviewing and harmonising —
14.
with the agreement of
the Member States — the legal
concepts relating to the different types of infringement of food
legislation in order to encourage controls and provide a level
playing field for internal competition.

15.
Food safety is therefore increasingly a local and regional
issue. However the proposal makes no mention of the role of
the Committee of the Regions. The Committee of the Regions
must be represented on the EFA Management Board and, if
necessary, be able to request scientific opinions from it.

16.
The Committee of the Regions is furthermore of the
opinion that the European Food Authority should practise
maximum openness and transparency. The decisions of the
Management Board and its documents must be accessible to
all citizens.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT