Ten Years of Food Safety: Lessons and Challenges

Transcription

1 Ten Years of Food Safety: Lessons and Challenges Dublin Castle 14 October 2009 Robert Madelin Director General for Health and Consumers European Commission 1of 30

2 1999 EU15 Treaty of Amsterdam 2of 30

3 2009 EU27 Treaty of Nice 3of 30

4 Treaties Maastricht (signed 92, entered into force 93) Amsterdam (signed 97, entered into force 99) Nice (signed 01, entered into force 03; current) Lisbon 4of 30

5 major new EU food laws adopted 665 Standing Committees (food & animal) 2,433 FVO Inspections (67 in Ireland) 3,000 minor legal amendments 22,331 Rapid Alert notifications (RASFF) About 70 Safeguard measures 5of 30

6 6of 30

7 Secondary branches Implementing rules Transitional arrangements Guidance documents Self Regulation Main branches Hygiene Regulations Trunk Regulation (EC) 178/2002 General food law 7of 30

8 EU food safety principles Farm to fork Traceability Food chain information HACCP principles Stakeholder involvement Private standards (HACCP, ISO 22000, PAS 220) 8of 30

9 EU food safety principles Minimising costs: Aligning risk management processes among 27 Member States 9of 30

10 Global complexities, problems and challenges Sustainability Competition for food & energy Economic crisis, trust Supply chain relations Self regulation Diet and physical activity 10 of 30

11 EU net importer Fish & crustacea (Norway, Thailand, Ecuador) Cereals (Brazil, USA, Argentina) Vegetables, fresh, chilled or frozen (Thailand, Morocco, Israel) Fruit & fruit prep. (Brazil, China, Switzerland) Coffee, tea, cocoa (Brazil, Ivory Coast, Vietnam) 11 of 30

12 Problems Some economic operators cheat! 12 of 30

13 Problems Everybody wants a principles-based legal framework They also want detailed explanation of what the legislation means 13 of 30

14 Problems Who wants a balanced risk-based management approach? Sudan red BSE Fishmeal New technologies 14 of 30

15 Problems EU partners are not always as responsive as we are 15 of 30

16 Problems In absence of legal requirements, some partners rely on self-regulation One risk of self-regulation is limited or inadequate traceability 16 of 30

17 Solutions Dialogue between stakeholders and regulators at EU and global level: Advisory Group RASFF (EU rapid alert System) INFOSAN (WHO global system) Avian Flu post-beijing 17 of 30

18 Sharing risk assessment Melamine 18 of 30

19 Common risk management approach to tackle problems Aflatoxins in Iran 19 of 30

20 EU Auditing Risk-Based By national authorities Coordinated (Official Food & Feed Controls) Reviewed (Food & Veterinary Office) 20 of 30

21 Success Factors Knowing each other (networks) Telling each other (alerts) Trusting each other (inspections) 21 of 30

22 Big Issues I Can science get a full license to operate? 22 of 30

23 Big Issues II Can science and WTO accommodate social preferences? 23 of 30

24 Big Issues III Will legislators and regulators support mutual recognition? 24 of 30

25 Big Issues IV What does zero really mean? 25 of 30

26 Big Issues V More Europe? Less Europe? Cost of Non-Europe? 26 of 30

27 Future Health and Consumer Challenges Crisis as opportunity Europe World Partner Risk perceptions Is the State a trusted brand? Explicit goals Understandable science Globalisation Confidence Uncertainties Stand against protectionism Sustainability Healthier, safer and more confident citizens Public leadership A common trade-off culture? Changing society Governance Quality vs. subsidiarity Cats not dogs - individual responsibility Data and monitoring Partnerships Solidarity / inequalities Education and empowerment Participative democracy Speed and risk of failure not perfection A common culture of cooperation? 27 of 30

28 For the Ageing For the Workforce For the Excluded For Children and Youth LONGER HEALTHIER LIVES SANCO as Leader & Player For Patients For Food SAFER HEALTHIER MORE CONFIDENT CITIZENS For Goods and Services SAFE GOOD-VALUE WELL-SUPPLIED MARKETS Accountable Partnerships for Action For Good Harvests Healthy Plants For healthy, well cared-for Animals Effective risk management CONFIDENCE IN EUROPE Educate Inform Empower Hearing & Understanding Citizens Modern Well-enforced Laws 28 of 30

29 Barroso II Policy Guidelines the EU Institutions and the Member States have often failed to make clear what European action means concretely for the citizens: how do Europeans benefit from the single market, from market opening and regulation from competition policy or from structural funds? What exactly are the rights of Europeans as students, workers, businesspeople or consumers? In short I want the European policy agenda to be built much more clearly around the rights and the needs of Europeans. 29 of 30

30 Thank you very much for your attention! Go raibh maith agaibh go leir! 30 of 30