Written Answers. - Food Additives Regulations.
Pat Carey
Question:
151
Mr. P. Carey
asked the
Minister for Health and Children
if he has satisfied himself that Statutory Instrument 438/2000 European Communities (Purity Criteria on Food Additives other than Colours and Sweeteners) (Amendment Regulations, 2000) is adequate to ensure traceability of ingredients manufactured in third countries and ultimately sold into countries of the European Union and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[10124/01]
The European Communities (Purity Criteria on Food Additives other than Colours and Sweeteners) Regulations, 2000 (Statutory Instrument No 438 of 2000), transpose into national law the Commission Directive 98/86/EC, amending Commission Directive 96/77/EC, laying down specific purity criteria on food additives other than colours and sweeteners. The general rules on food additives other than colours and sweeteners are laid down in European Parliament and Council Directive 95/2/EC as amended. This Directive lays down the additives permitted in food, the types of food in which they are permitted and the levels at which they are permitted and was transposed into national law by the European Communities (Food Additives other than Colours and Sweeteners) Regulations, 1999 (S.I. No. 288 of 1999).
Directives 96/77/EC and 98/86/EC concern the specifications and analytical techniques for all approved additives. The specifications ensure that additives are safe and do not contain harmful substances that can be carried in to foodstuffs. They also ensure good manufacturing practice and lay down criteria of acceptability. S.I. No. 438 of 2000 is not intended to ensure traceability, which is a feature of the labelling legislation and specific commodity legislation. It is also a feature of the company's liability to produce safe food. Certain proposals at EU level address the issue of traceability.
The draft regulation of the European Parliament and Council, laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety, addresses the issue of traceability. This regulation proposes to establish a comprehensive system of traceability, so that targeted and accurate withdrawals can be undertaken, or information given to consumers or control officials. This draft regulation places an obligation on a food business, including an importer, to identify at least the business from whom the food has been supplied, to ensure that on investigation, traceability can be assured at all stages. It is considered that a food business operator is best placed to devise a safe system for supplying food and ensuring that the food it supplies is safe and should, accordingly, have primary legal responsibility for ensuring food safety.
The EU proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and Council, on the hygiene of foodstuffs, introduces certain principles to improve traceability. Provision is also made for foodstuffs imported into the Community to comply with the Community hygiene standards, or with equivalent standards. The proposal contains a uniform procedure for organising imports, from non-member countries, of products of animal origin destined for human consumption. These procedures consist essentially of the following steps: Audits and/or assessment of the competent authority performance and on-the-spot inspections to verify compliance/equivalence with EU requirements; establishment of a list of non-member countries matching EU standards; establishment of import conditions and certification requirements for each non-member country and establishment of a list of establishments in non-member countries meeting EU standards.
In fulfillment of the European Commission's commitment to ensuring that the highest levels of health protection are offered to the European consumer, the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) was established in the Directorate-General for Consumer Policy and Consumer Health Protection in April 1997. The principal mission of the FVO is to monitor and control how member States and third countries implement EU legislation on food safety, animal health, plant health and animal welfare, and to contribute towards the maintenance of confidence in the safety of food offered to the European consumer. It fulfils this mission by carrying out a programme of inspections to monitor the performance of competent authorities, including audits and on-the-spot inspections of individual establishments in both member states and third countries.
The FVO aims to ensure that imports into the EU are safe and are produced under conditions at least equivalent to those in the EU. EU directives and regulations set the standards to be met by animal products originating in the EU and also set down equivalent standards in relation to imports. Countries wishing to export food to the European Union are first required to demonstrate that, for the specific products they wish to export, they have, and can maintain, safety standards at least equivalent to those applicable in the EU. The FVO assesses the competent authority in third counties and the reliability of their control systems and certification.
For a wide range of products, third countries must apply to be included on an approved list prior to exporting to the EU. Normally a country will only be included after the Food and Veterinary Office has carried out an initial inspection of the control systems in the applicant country and has recommended that it be included on a list of approved countries. Animal and/or public health conditions and certification have to be agreed and laid down in Community legislation. In addition, once a country has been included on an approved list, it must provide a list of all establishments in that country that have been approved as meeting the required standards set down for export to the EU. The rules governing the importation of food of animal origin into the European Union require that all such imports must come through designated border inspection posts, authorised and equipped to carry out specified checks and controls.
