White Paper on Food Safety

Citation

(2000), "White Paper on Food Safety", British Food Journal, Vol. 102 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/bfj.2000.070102dab.005

White Paper on Food Safety

White Paper on Food Safety

On the 12 January, the European Commission adopted a White Paper on Food Safety. The central goal of the European Commission is the achievement of the highest possible level of health protection for the consumers of Europe's food. The White Paper sets out a radical reform plan: a major programme of legislative reform is proposed to complete the EU's "farm to table" approach as well as the establishment of a new European Food Authority. Achieving the highest standards of food safety in the EU is a key policy priority for the European Commission and the White Paper bears testimony to this priority. The guiding principle throughout the White Paper is that food safety policy must be based on a comprehensive, integrated approach. The Commission also decided today on allocation of food safety and industrial policy responsibilities.

The White Paper was presented by David Byrne, Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner, and Erkki Liikanen, Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner. It represents the culmination of three months' extensive work by the Commission since its appointment last September and builds on the consultation arising from the Commission's Green Paper on Food Law published in 1997.

Commenting on the launch, David Byrne said:

This is a major initiative designed to promote the health of Europe's consumers by the establishment of world class food safety standards and systems. The proposals in the White Paper on Food Safety are the most radical and far-reaching ever presented in the area of food safety. They are, I believe, an essential prerequisite for Europe to have the highest possible standards in respect of food safety. Consumer confidence has been badly affected by the various food alerts and crises of recent years and months. I believe that our proposals in the White Paper should fundamentally address consumers' legitimate concerns in this regard with a view to restoring and maintaining confidence in food safety.

Erkki Liikanen said:

Today's initiative is aimed at achieving a double objective. By restoring and maintaining the confidence of European consumers in the safety of food in the EU, the programme launched by this White Paper will not only effectively increase the quality of the everyday-lives of Europeans, it will also boost the competitiveness of the European food industry.