The hygiene package of five laws adopted by the EU last year aim to merge, harmonise and simplify complex hygiene requirements currently scattered over seventeen EU directives. The single hygienepolicy, due to come into force on 1 January 2006, will apply to all food and all food operators.
While the package would lead to higher costs for food processors, it would also make cross-border trading in the bloc simpler for them by establishing a common set of rules.
With the establishment of a common health certificate for food and feed products entering the EU, imports would also face less red tape under the new rules. This is a mixed blessing for foodprocessors. Those bringing supplies into the bloc would find it easier to do so. However it could also result in increasing competition within the bloc from non-EU companies.
The implementing rules agreed on this week include provisions increasing the amount of information required to trace foods and ingredients through the supply chain. They also include information ontesting methods for marine biotoxins and fishery products along with requirements for listing approved food companies.
The rules also include models of health certificates for products such as frogs' legs, snails, gelatine and collagen. This will mean non-EU companies exporting products will only have to completea common health certificate to sell to the 25 members in the bloc.
The rules also set out exemptions for small operators producing traditional foods.
Following the food and feed safety committee endorsement of the implementing rules, the Commission will now formally begin to adopt the legislation.
Separate regulations under consideration include specific rules for the control of the parasite Trichinella in meat from susceptible animals. Another proposal sets out transitional arrangementsuntil 31 December 2009 for some of the new hygiene provisions. The adoption of this proposal is expected by mid-October.
The hygiene package was adopted in April 2004 and consists of a set of four regulations overhauling all previous EU food and feed hygiene legislation. The application of the laws was delayed until1 January 2006 to give member states, countries trading with the EU and food business operators time to conform to the new legal framework.
The legislation lays down general hygiene rules for the production of all food. Specific rules are set for meat and meat products, bivalve molluscs, fishery products, milk and dairy products, eggsand egg products, frogs' legs and snails, animal fats, gelatine and collagen.
The package introduces also introduces hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP), an internationally agreed set of principles to manage the food safety risks during production processes.
The HACCP plan is based on seven principles identified in the Codex guidelines adopted by the Food and Agricultural Organisation and the World Health Organisation's Codex AlimentariusCommission in 1993.
The regulations will not apply to the direct supply by the producer of small quantities of primary products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments. For example, the EU'sadministrative body points out that apples or eggs sold directly at the farm gate or in local retail shops are not covered by the regulations.
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