Food Safety & Hygiene

Reg. (EU) 178/02 lays down the general principles and requirements of food law, established the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and lays down procedures in matters of food safety  

EFSA is the European Food Safety authority. EFSA's mission includes

(a) delivering scientific advice and scientific and technical support on human nutrition in relation to EU legislation & communication on nutritional issues within the framework of the Community health programme;

(b) scientific opinions on other matters relating to animal health and welfare and plant health;

(c) scientific opinions on products other than food and feed relating to GMO's

Food is considered unsafe if it is injurious to health or if it is unfit for human consumption.  Unsafe food cannot be placed on the EU market.  There are several rules and interpretations of when food id to be considered unsafe, sometimes even id it is compliant to EU rules.  

​

Food hygiene means the measures and conditions necessary to control hazards and to ensure fitness for human consumption of a foodstuff taking into account its intended use.  The general rules on food hygiene have been harmonized in the EU since 2004, and the rules have been applicable since 2006.  

the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) is an IT tool designed to swiftly exchange information between national authorities on health risks related to food and feed.

A member country of the network that identifies a health hazard informs the rest of the system's network on the product concerned and the measures taken to address the risk. Measures include: withholding, recalling, seizing or rejecting products.

HACCP (Hazard analysis and critical control points) principles govern the procedures that food business operators need to put in place in order to govern food hygiene