The European Union’s Food Policy
The European Union’s Food Policy is one of the policies that the EU has progressively taken over, due to the free movement of goods and the single market. Indeed, over time, European legislation has been increasingly attentive to the food sector, to the point of making it one of the priorities. There are many issues and challenges in this area: food safety, food balance and consumer habits, agriculture and the production of the products that reach our tables every day. It is because of these many challenges that in the early 2000s the EU implemented a series of measures aimed at greater integration and transparency in this area.
European food protection legislation
The founding act that marks a turning point for the food sector is undoubtedly Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002, which lays down the general lines and principles of European food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority, a body in charge of monitoring compliance with the rules relating to the EU Food Policy legislation. This regulation establishes that “only safe food and feed may be placed on the market in the Union”.
It is indeed thanks to this regulation that the European Union has identified 4 general principles that Member States must respect in order to guarantee the quality of food products and ensure the well-being of European citizens.
→ Principle of responsibility : according to which operators have a duty of self-control and must ensure that the European legislation in force is respected at all stages of the food chain (production, processing, distribution). The authorities of the Member States, on the other hand, must monitor the proper functioning of the chain and, if necessary, provide for sanctions against transgressors. In France, this is the responsibility of the SIVEP (border veterinary and phytosanitary inspection service), which ensures that products from third countries comply with European legislation.
→ Principle of traceability : according to which animals, foodstuffs and substances that enter the food chain must be traceable. This means that operators must be able to indicate who supplied them with substances or animals to be included in the food chain.
→ Precautionary principle : according to which authorities are required to take risk management measures when they identify anomalies or harmful effects in certain products.
→ Transparency principle : according to which measures are foreseen to inform the public about possible risks related to the safety of food products and foodstuffs.
While the EU food policy provides for strict measures at all stages of the food chain, it also provides for measures against food waste.
The fight against food waste
The fight against food waste is another major challenge for the EU. According to estimates from the EU FUSION project, about 88 tonnes of food, or 173 kilos per person, is wasted by Europeans every year.
The European Commission has taken numerous actions to combat this phenomenon.
Firstly, in August 2016 the European Commission created a platform to inform Member States about the rate of food waste and encourage them to reduce this phenomenon through food donations.
Secondly, following the Court of Auditors’ report of 2017 on food waste in the EU, and in application of the Waste Framework Directive, the Commission has established that Member States must first of all start collecting data on the respective food waste rate from 2020, and by 2022, reduce food waste by at least 30% and by 50% by the end of 2025.