EU Food Law and Policy

Front Cover
Kluwer Law International B.V., Jan 1, 2004 - Law - 228 pages
To all appearances, Europe is at present undergoing a crisis of consumer confidence with respect to the food industry. Recent food scares, the genetically-modified food controversy, a growing public awareness of the environmental footprint of intensive farming methods, and a perceived threat to the deeply-held European cultural values surrounding diet and cuisine all have combined to expose the vulnerability of consumers in the very ordinary activity of purchasing food. Although the creation of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in February 2002 can be viewed as an EU response to this crisis, it in fact represents an inevitable milestone in a body of food-specific European legislation and case law that has been growing for many years.

The EFSA does, however, clearly establish food law as an autonomous branch of EU law. This is the first book to survey and analyse this body of law in depth, drawing together the relevant laws and cases and taking stock of the trends and likely future developments in this dynamic and emotive area of law and policy.

elucidates the scope of European food law by investigating several avenues and facets of the subject, including the following:

its underpinnings in Article 3 of the EC Treaty, on the free movement of goods;the principle of mutual recognition among Member States;case law developments concerning composition of foodstuffs, labelling, sales promotion, advertising, and other aspects of food production and distribution;aims and policies of the January 2000 White Paper on Food Safety issued by the European Commission;appropriate hygiene standards; andauthorisation and labelling of GMOs.

Because food is such a central and essential element in society, food law has far-reaching economic, social, and environmental consequences. And because Europe's new food safety regime is intended, by an extraordinary unanimity of Member States and major political groups, to be the most up-to-date and effective in the world, a broad range of legal practitioners and scholars, social scientists, and policymakers will greatly appreciate this thoroughgoing and insightful analysis.

 

Contents

Introduction
1
Free Movement of Goods
4
New Approach Green Paper and White Paper
15
Emergence of Food Law as an Autonomous Branch of Law 22
22
Food Labelling
32
Additives
42
Flavourings
59
Claims
70
Contaminants and Residues
144
Hygiene
155
ZoonosesMicrobiological Criteria
169
Food Controls and Official Inspection of Foodstuffs
179
The International Context
188
Conclusion
193
Action Plan on Food Safety
195
List of Permitted Food Colours Directive 9436
205

PARNUTS Foodstuffs Intended for Particular Nutritional Uses
80
Food Supplements and Fortification
93
Vertical Directives
99
Novel Foods and Genetically Modified Organisms
110
Agricultural Products
121
Food Contact Materials
135
Fortification
207
Food Supplements
211
Glossary
215
Index
223
Copyright

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