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Food safety

The EU's food safety policy covers food from farm to fork. It is designed to guarantee safe, nutritious food and animal feed, high standards of animal health and welfare and plant protection, as well as clear information on the origin, content, label

Policies

Labelling and nutrition

In the European Union, the labelling rules enable the citizens to get comprehensive information about the content and composition of food products.

Novel foods

Novel Food is defined as food that had not been consumed to a significant degree by humans in the EU before 15 May 1997.

Chemical safety

Chemical substances play an important role in food production and distribution.

Biological safety

A comprehensive legal framework to increase the level of food safety in Europe.

Food waste

Wasting food is not only an ethical and economic issue but it also depletes the environment of limited natural resources.

Pesticides

A 'pesticide' is something that prevents, destroys, or controls a harmful organism ('pest') or disease, or protects plants or plant products.

Animal feed

Roughly 5 million EU farmers raise animals for food production with a value of about EUR 130 billion.

Animal health

The EU animal health policy is the result of decades-long development in the fight against transmissible animal diseases.

Food improvement agents

Food additives, food enzymes and food flavourings are also known as "food improvement agents".

Semen, Oocytes & Embryos

Animal health requirements regarding entry and movement into and within the EU of semen, oocytes and embryos free of pathogens have been harmonised.

Agri-food fraud

The complex nature of our globalized agri-food supply chain and the economic motivation to provide cheaper food products increase the possibility of fraud.

Food and feed safety alerts

The EU has one of the highest food safety standards in the world, which ensures that food is safe for consumers.

Animal by-products

Animal by-products (ABPs) are materials of animal origin that people do not consume.

General food law

European citizens need to have access to safe and wholesome food of highest standards.

Fitness check of the food chain

The food chain security provided by RASFF. Since 2014 the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed is a key tool to ensure food is safe for consumers.

Future of EU food safety

The European Commission is committed to a future food safety budget and a coherent and responsible nutrition policy.

Official controls and enforcement

The EU and its competent authorities are responsible for verifying business compliance with the requirements for enforcing the agri-food chain legislation.

International affairs

The EU's international trade agreements have contributed to developing international standards within food safety, animal health and law.

Health and food audits and analysis

The EC monitors the implementation and enforcement of EU legislation on food, feed safety, animal health, animal welfare, plant health, and human health.

Better training for safer food

The EC training initiative to improve the knowledge of EU rules on food, feed law, animal health and welfare, as well as regulations on plant health.

Animal welfare

With the support and close co-operation of EU countries, the EC has been promoting animal welfare for over 40 years, improving the lives of farm animals.

Live animals

Live animals are traded or enter the Union every day. The EU has laid down animal health requirements so that all these animals can be moved safely.

Animal products

Every day, products of animal origin are moved between or enter the EU. In this view, the EU has laid down a range of animal health requirements.

Movement of pets

The adoption of harmonised rules on travelling with pets has made it easier for EU citizens and their pets to enjoy freedom of movement within the Union.

Animal diseases

The EU holistic approach to control of animal diseases is based on several aspects

Animal identification

The basic objectives for EU rules on the identification of animals are: The localisation and tracing of animals for veterinary purposes, which is of cruci

Zootechnics

The Union's zootechnical legislation promotes free trade in breeding animals and their genetic material.

Veterinary border control

The veterinary border control is a key factor to ensure that the live animals and animal products entering to the European Union are safe

Plant reproductive material

The EU regulates the marketing of plant reproductive material of agricultural, vegetable, forest, fruit and ornamental species and vines, ensuring that EU

Plant health and biosecurity

EU rules on plant health aim to protect crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers, ornamentals and forests from harmful pests and diseases.

Plant property rights

The EU has established a system that grants intellectual property rights to new plant varieties called Community plant variety right (CPVR).