The European Commission has established a task force to strengthen the European Union’s ability to ensure that imported products meet food safety standards.
In particular, it will focus on feed and food safety, pesticide residues and the EU’s coordinated monitoring activities on certain imported products.
This task force brings together the expertise of the Commission and Member States and will contribute to:
Further harmonization of import controls across the EU; Development of recommendations for joint action by the Commission and Member States; Identifying where additional administrative or regulatory measures are needed to strengthen controls;
Strengthening EU food safety policy
The EU has strong food and feed safety legislation that ensures that imported food and feed is safe for citizens.
National authorities are responsible for inspecting imports from third countries to assess compliance with EU food and feed safety regulations.
The European Commission, working closely with veterinary and customs authorities in Member States, carries out third country audits to assess the systems and reliability of third countries.
Supporting “Farm to Fork” Laws
In the EU, feed and food safety is governed by a ‘farm to fork’ philosophy, ensuring that products around the world meet the same rigorous safety standards.
food safety
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) provides independent scientific advice that underpins all food regulations in the EU.
A key pillar of this law is traceability. All food or feed suppliers must be able to identify who supplies them and to whom they supply them. This ensures that “problematic” products can be accurately tracked and immediately withdrawn from the market if a safety issue is detected.
residual pesticides
The EU maintains the world’s strictest limits on pesticide residues, with Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs), the highest legally permissible concentrations of pesticides in food or feed.
If no specific limit value is set for a substance, a default MRL of 0.01 mg/kg applies. This is essentially the lowest level detectable with standard laboratory equipment.
Imported goods
Imported food and feed must comply with the same food safety requirements as food and feed produced within the EU.
Products of animal origin and “high risk” non-animal products (such as certain nuts and spices from certain countries) must enter the country via Border Control Points (BCPs).
If an imported product is found to be dangerous, such as containing a prohibited substance, the rapid alert network will immediately notify all member states and prevent the product from reaching consumers.
Protecting the health of humans, animals, and plants
The central goal of the European Commission’s food safety policy is the highest level of protection of human, animal and plant health by guaranteeing EU consumers safe and nutritious food and the highest standards of animal feed.
Strict import rules regarding food and feed hygiene, consumer safety and animal and plant health aim to ensure that all imported goods meet the same high standards as products from the EU itself.
Import controls are very important in ensuring that food and feed products comply with relevant requirements. EU rules apply to all products sold in the EU, whether produced domestically or imported.
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