It's amazing to observe how the productivity of each hectar of plot improved in last years up to 10 times.
From one hand such a news is as positive as it sounds, giving the increasing number of global population whose majority is still facing severe hard living conditions due to the lack of nutritional and living means.
On the other hand, we can’t help but wonder how this sensational breakthrough matches with the demand of safety and quality needed by the worldwide customers.
Health and diet are factors that many consumers now not only in Europe are taking into big account when doing their weekly shopping.
Safe, nutritious and affordable food is top of their list. For this reason EU food safety policy has also evolved and adapted to ongoing changes and investment in research and innovation.
It was with the start of the new century that the EU really pushed forward in building up its food safety legislation and infrastructure.
In 2000, the European Commission published a White Paper on Food Safety, which underlined the importance of ensuring the highest possible standards of food safety and proposed a radical new approach to achieve them.
On the wave of the White Paper on Food Safety in 2002, was entered into force the EU’s General Food Law, providing the fundamental principles for food safety in Europe.
It also introduced the “farm to fork” approach, i.e. the application of good food safety practices and controls at each and every point in the food chain and the necessity for food to be traceable right back to its original source.
The quality and safety of food and feed products, in fact, became the first and foremost demand of customers and shall be as well the first and foremost interest of operators in food industry, which should inspire the management practices at each stage of the feed and food chain from primary production to final processing.
The General Food Law provided a solid base upon which further important food safety rules, such as the so-called “Hygiene Package”.
Shortly afterwards was entered into force a very solid body of EU food safety legislation with the creation of the European Food Safety Authority and the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed.
Between 2004 and 2005 the Hygiene Package was completed with Regulation (EC) No 183/2005 on feed hygiene as well as Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, on the hygiene of foodstuffs.
European regulation is based on good hygiene practices to achieve the objectives laid down in the EU food and feed safety legislation and encourages the development of national or Community guides to good practice by food and feed business sectors, in consultation with any interested party.
How is this matter concerned with cereals? The Hygiene Package is to be applied to the collection, storage, trading and transport of cereals, oilseeds and protein crops to help the compliance with the hygiene standards, to control food and feed safety risks and to guarantee the safety of the food and feed placed on the market and It aims to prevent or reduce the risks of biological, chemical and physical contamination that were identified in the hazard analysis, adapted by each operator according to the activities they control.
Pursuant to the regulation system enforced in Europe the operators who handle cereals, oilseeds and protein crops shall control constantly and attentively whether some of their outlets have specific requirements in respect of some identified hazards and increase their vigilance on the prevention of cross contamination.
Operating sites, premises, equipment, transport, waste and staff shall comply with good hygiene practices.
In fact the new rules for both food and feed hygiene introduce Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles for all business sectors except for the primary sector (farms).
The competent authority in each Member State must control the situation through regular inspections and on-the-spot checks. All food and feed business operators need to be registered, and some businesses, such as cutting plants, need approval before they can operate.
Moreover, certain establishments as such as cutting plants must also guarantee other rules are complied with, like the prevention of cross-contamination.
The new legislation on food hygiene does provide some flexibility for small businesses, traditional food manufacturers and businesses in remote regions.
Breaches of feed and food law, as well as animal health and welfare rules, may constitute a threat for human health, animal health and the environment.
Two levels of sanctions are provided for at national level in the new legislation in the case of non-compliance by operators:
- Administrative sanctions, such as withdrawal or suspension of an approval, destruction or withdrawal of a product from the market or restriction of the scope and scale of activities;
- Criminal sanctions against non-compliant food operators may be imposed by Member States, according to the circumstances and to their national rules.
For all imported food and feed, the general principle is that the product must meet EU food and feed safety standards or conditions recognised by the Community to be at least equivalent to EU standards.
The Regulation provides for a full range of initiatives to make it easier for developing countries to implement the EU food and feed control requirements.
This Regulation shall be implemented with recent rules concerning the traceability and labelling of feed and food.
Nevertheless mandatory origin labelling is not a tool to prevent fraud by malicious operators.
The present scandal of GMO wheat and horsemeat could have occurred even if origin labelling was mandatory for the foods in question, but thanks to traceability system the reaction was immediate.
To date, the overall experience of the food hygiene package is regarded as positive, and there is broad support for the 3 principles introduced by the Regulations.
Important food safety areas have been addressed over the last 10 years: the limitation of exposure to pesticides, the setting of safe levels of their residues and the evaluation of food and feed additives.
As a result, European consumers can feel safe in the knowledge that the nutrition or health claims on their food labels have a sound scientific basis.
Matter of huge concern though in full swing is the field of GMO as well as novel food.
To make sure that these foods posed no risk to consumer health, the EU introduced specific legislation to ensure that new products could only be placed on the market if they were scientifically proven to be safe.
Therefore, the European Commission drew up a new EU Regulation to govern “novel foods”.
Novel foods are defined as food and food ingredients which were not used for human consumption to any significant degree before the Regulation entered into force.
The Commission was keen to ensure that the novel foods legislation would not stifle progress that could bring benefits to the consumer.
At the same time, however, protecting the health and safety of EU citizens remained the top priority.
That's why under EU legislation, novel foods must undergo a safety assessment before being placed on the market.
The very same can be affirmed about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), plants, animals and micro-organisms whose genetic characteristics have been artificially modified to create a new property.
For example, genetic engineering can be used to boost a plant’s resistance to a particular insect or improve the nutritional value of a food, right as achieved with corn and wheat.
In terms of food safety, genetically modified food and feed is principally covered by two Regulations which entered into force in April 2004.
The first provides the framework for the assessment and authorization of GM food and feed at EU level.
All authorized GMOs are listed on a register available to the public, which is maintained and regularly updated by the European Commission.
The second deals with the labelling and traceability of GMOs once they have been authorized.
Before any GMO can be used or sold in the EU, it must be scientifically assessed and its safety verified.
All GMO authorizations must be renewed on a ten-year basis.
With regard to the labelling of GMOs, EU rules require all food and feed made from GMOs to be marked with either “this product contains genetically modified organisms” or “produced from genetically modified (name of GM product)”.
These labelling requirements also apply to food which was produced from GMOs, even if it no longer contains genetically modified DNA or proteins – for example, oils from GM crops.
The only exception to this mandatory labelling is where there is only a tiny trace of GM material present, below a set minimum threshold.
This enables the rapid withdrawal of the product from the market if any problems arise.
In conclusion, we can reckon that european consumers have benefited greatly from this evolution and the food supply situation is very different for Europeans today than it was for their counterparts in the 1950s.
A solid body of food safety legislation has been set up over the years, along with reliable systems to ensure the protection of human and animal health and nowadays European citizens not only enjoy a stable supply of food, but also an enormous choice of products which are required to meet very high standards.
The EFSA surely made food safer sooner, strengthening the EU's ability to deal with food crises swiftly and effectively, increasing cooperation with and among Member States, and finally, establishing a culture of trust between risk assessors and risk managers in support of science-based policymaking.
But there were also future challenges identified: to better understand the public's perception of risk and make communications more accessible, particularly given the rise of social media and 'viral' web stories; to ensure continued access to the best scientific experts; and to boost risk assessment capacity in the EU.
From one hand such a news is as positive as it sounds, giving the increasing number of global population whose majority is still facing severe hard living conditions due to the lack of nutritional and living means.
On the other hand, we can’t help but wonder how this sensational breakthrough matches with the demand of safety and quality needed by the worldwide customers.
Health and diet are factors that many consumers now not only in Europe are taking into big account when doing their weekly shopping.
Safe, nutritious and affordable food is top of their list. For this reason EU food safety policy has also evolved and adapted to ongoing changes and investment in research and innovation.
It was with the start of the new century that the EU really pushed forward in building up its food safety legislation and infrastructure.
In 2000, the European Commission published a White Paper on Food Safety, which underlined the importance of ensuring the highest possible standards of food safety and proposed a radical new approach to achieve them.
On the wave of the White Paper on Food Safety in 2002, was entered into force the EU’s General Food Law, providing the fundamental principles for food safety in Europe.
It also introduced the “farm to fork” approach, i.e. the application of good food safety practices and controls at each and every point in the food chain and the necessity for food to be traceable right back to its original source.
The quality and safety of food and feed products, in fact, became the first and foremost demand of customers and shall be as well the first and foremost interest of operators in food industry, which should inspire the management practices at each stage of the feed and food chain from primary production to final processing.
The General Food Law provided a solid base upon which further important food safety rules, such as the so-called “Hygiene Package”.
Shortly afterwards was entered into force a very solid body of EU food safety legislation with the creation of the European Food Safety Authority and the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed.
Between 2004 and 2005 the Hygiene Package was completed with Regulation (EC) No 183/2005 on feed hygiene as well as Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, on the hygiene of foodstuffs.
European regulation is based on good hygiene practices to achieve the objectives laid down in the EU food and feed safety legislation and encourages the development of national or Community guides to good practice by food and feed business sectors, in consultation with any interested party.
How is this matter concerned with cereals? The Hygiene Package is to be applied to the collection, storage, trading and transport of cereals, oilseeds and protein crops to help the compliance with the hygiene standards, to control food and feed safety risks and to guarantee the safety of the food and feed placed on the market and It aims to prevent or reduce the risks of biological, chemical and physical contamination that were identified in the hazard analysis, adapted by each operator according to the activities they control.
Pursuant to the regulation system enforced in Europe the operators who handle cereals, oilseeds and protein crops shall control constantly and attentively whether some of their outlets have specific requirements in respect of some identified hazards and increase their vigilance on the prevention of cross contamination.
Operating sites, premises, equipment, transport, waste and staff shall comply with good hygiene practices.
In fact the new rules for both food and feed hygiene introduce Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles for all business sectors except for the primary sector (farms).
The competent authority in each Member State must control the situation through regular inspections and on-the-spot checks. All food and feed business operators need to be registered, and some businesses, such as cutting plants, need approval before they can operate.
Moreover, certain establishments as such as cutting plants must also guarantee other rules are complied with, like the prevention of cross-contamination.
The new legislation on food hygiene does provide some flexibility for small businesses, traditional food manufacturers and businesses in remote regions.
Breaches of feed and food law, as well as animal health and welfare rules, may constitute a threat for human health, animal health and the environment.
Two levels of sanctions are provided for at national level in the new legislation in the case of non-compliance by operators:
- Administrative sanctions, such as withdrawal or suspension of an approval, destruction or withdrawal of a product from the market or restriction of the scope and scale of activities;
- Criminal sanctions against non-compliant food operators may be imposed by Member States, according to the circumstances and to their national rules.
For all imported food and feed, the general principle is that the product must meet EU food and feed safety standards or conditions recognised by the Community to be at least equivalent to EU standards.
The Regulation provides for a full range of initiatives to make it easier for developing countries to implement the EU food and feed control requirements.
This Regulation shall be implemented with recent rules concerning the traceability and labelling of feed and food.
Nevertheless mandatory origin labelling is not a tool to prevent fraud by malicious operators.
The present scandal of GMO wheat and horsemeat could have occurred even if origin labelling was mandatory for the foods in question, but thanks to traceability system the reaction was immediate.
To date, the overall experience of the food hygiene package is regarded as positive, and there is broad support for the 3 principles introduced by the Regulations.
Important food safety areas have been addressed over the last 10 years: the limitation of exposure to pesticides, the setting of safe levels of their residues and the evaluation of food and feed additives.
As a result, European consumers can feel safe in the knowledge that the nutrition or health claims on their food labels have a sound scientific basis.
Matter of huge concern though in full swing is the field of GMO as well as novel food.
To make sure that these foods posed no risk to consumer health, the EU introduced specific legislation to ensure that new products could only be placed on the market if they were scientifically proven to be safe.
Therefore, the European Commission drew up a new EU Regulation to govern “novel foods”.
Novel foods are defined as food and food ingredients which were not used for human consumption to any significant degree before the Regulation entered into force.
The Commission was keen to ensure that the novel foods legislation would not stifle progress that could bring benefits to the consumer.
At the same time, however, protecting the health and safety of EU citizens remained the top priority.
That's why under EU legislation, novel foods must undergo a safety assessment before being placed on the market.
The very same can be affirmed about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), plants, animals and micro-organisms whose genetic characteristics have been artificially modified to create a new property.
For example, genetic engineering can be used to boost a plant’s resistance to a particular insect or improve the nutritional value of a food, right as achieved with corn and wheat.
In terms of food safety, genetically modified food and feed is principally covered by two Regulations which entered into force in April 2004.
The first provides the framework for the assessment and authorization of GM food and feed at EU level.
All authorized GMOs are listed on a register available to the public, which is maintained and regularly updated by the European Commission.
The second deals with the labelling and traceability of GMOs once they have been authorized.
Before any GMO can be used or sold in the EU, it must be scientifically assessed and its safety verified.
All GMO authorizations must be renewed on a ten-year basis.
With regard to the labelling of GMOs, EU rules require all food and feed made from GMOs to be marked with either “this product contains genetically modified organisms” or “produced from genetically modified (name of GM product)”.
These labelling requirements also apply to food which was produced from GMOs, even if it no longer contains genetically modified DNA or proteins – for example, oils from GM crops.
The only exception to this mandatory labelling is where there is only a tiny trace of GM material present, below a set minimum threshold.
This enables the rapid withdrawal of the product from the market if any problems arise.
In conclusion, we can reckon that european consumers have benefited greatly from this evolution and the food supply situation is very different for Europeans today than it was for their counterparts in the 1950s.
A solid body of food safety legislation has been set up over the years, along with reliable systems to ensure the protection of human and animal health and nowadays European citizens not only enjoy a stable supply of food, but also an enormous choice of products which are required to meet very high standards.
The EFSA surely made food safer sooner, strengthening the EU's ability to deal with food crises swiftly and effectively, increasing cooperation with and among Member States, and finally, establishing a culture of trust between risk assessors and risk managers in support of science-based policymaking.
But there were also future challenges identified: to better understand the public's perception of risk and make communications more accessible, particularly given the rise of social media and 'viral' web stories; to ensure continued access to the best scientific experts; and to boost risk assessment capacity in the EU.
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