"stages of production, processing and distribution" means any stage, including import, from and including the primary production of a food, up to and including its storage, transport, sale or supply to the final consumer and, where relevant, the importation, production, manufacture, storage, transport, distribution, sale and supply of feed; 17. 2. (30) A food business operator is best placed to devise a safe system for supplying food and ensuring that the food it supplies is safe; thus, it should have primary legal responsibility for ensuring food safety. 4. The Authority shall lay down in its internal rules the practical arrangements for implementing the transparency rules referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2. In 2002, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law (General Food Law Regulation). The Authority shall lay down in its internal rules the practical arrangements for implementing the confidentiality rules referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2. The Management Board shall adopt the Authority's internal rules on the basis of a proposal by the Executive Director. The mission of the Authority shall also include the provision of: (a) scientific advice and scientific and technical support on human nutrition in relation to Community legislation and, at the request of the Commission, assistance concerning communication on nutritional issues within the framework of the Community health programme; (b) scientific opinions on other matters relating to animal health and welfare and plant health; (c) scientific opinions on products other than food and feed relating to genetically modified organisms as defined by Directive 2001/18/EC and without prejudice to the procedures established therein. 3. "hazard" means a biological, chemical or physical agent in, or condition of, food or feed with the potential to cause an adverse health effect; 15. (50) Improved identification of emerging risks may in the long term be a major preventive instrument at the disposal of the Member States and the Community in the exercise of its policies. Where reference is made to this paragraph, the procedure laid down in Article 5 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, in compliance with Articles 7 and 8 thereof.3. >> A feed business operator shall immediately inform the competent authorities if it considers or has reason to believe that a feed which it placed on the market may not satisfy the feed safety requirements. The Management Board, having received the Commission's approval and the opinion of the Court of Auditors, shall adopt the Authority's financial regulation which specifies in particular the procedure for drawing up and implementing the Authority's budget, in accordance with Article 142 of the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities(26) and with the legislative requirements concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office. Close cooperation between the Authority, the Commission and the Member States is also necessary to ensure the coherence of the global communication process. 3. If a feed business operator considers or has reason to believe that a feed which it has imported, produced, processed, manufactured or distributed does not satisfy the feed safety requirements, it shall immediately initiate procedures to withdraw the feed in question from the market and inform the competent authorities thereof. It may be called upon to give opinions on contentious scientific issues, thereby enabling the Community institutions and Member States to take informed risk management decisions necessary to ensure food and feed safety whilst helping avoid the fragmentation of the internal market through the adoption of unjustified or unnecessary obstacles to the free movement of food and feed. Accordingly, Council Decisions 68/361/EEC(10), 69/414/EEC(11), and 70/372/EEC(12), should be repealed. It shall publish each year a report on the Authority's activities.4. Members of the Management Board, the Executive Director, members of the Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels as well as external experts participating in their working groups, members of the Advisory Forum and members of the staff of the Authority, even after their duties have ceased, shall be subject to the requirements of confidentiality pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty. 1. Participation in the rapid alert system may be opened up to applicant countries, third countries or international organisations, on the basis of agreements between the Community and those countries or international organisations, in accordance with the procedures defined in those agreements. Where a substantive divergence over scientific issues has been identified and the body in question is a Member State body, the Authority and the national body shall be obliged to cooperate with a view to either resolving the divergence or preparing a joint document clarifying the contentious scientific issues and identifying the relevant uncertainties in the data. (15) Networking of laboratories of excellence, at regional and/or interregional level, with the aim of ensuring continuous monitoring of food safety, could play an important role in the prevention of potential health risks for citizens. References to the European Food Safety Authority and to the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. It shall analyse the content of such messages with a view to providing the Commission and the Member States with any information required for the purposes of risk analysis. In respect of its staff, the Authority shall exercise the powers which have been devolved to the appointing authority.Article 49Participation of third countriesThe Authority shall be open to the participation of countries which have concluded agreements with the European Community by virtue of which they have adopted and apply Community legislation in the field covered by this Regulation.Arrangements shall be made under the relevant provisions of those agreements, specifying in particular the nature, extent and manner in which these countries will participate in the Authority's work, including provisions relating to participation in the networks operated by the Authority, inclusion in the list of competent organisations to which certain tasks may be entrusted by the Authority, financial contributions and staff.CHAPTER IVRAPID ALERT SYSTEM, CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND EMERGENCIESSECTION 1RAPID ALERT SYSTEMArticle 50Rapid alert system1. Where a food or feed which has been the subject of a notification under the rapid alert system has been dispatched to a third country, the Commission shall provide the latter with the appropriate information.5. The system should not cover the Community arrangements for the early exchange of information in the event of a radiological emergency as defined in Council Decision 87/600/Euratom(9). These measures shall specify, in particular, the specific conditions and procedures applicable to the transmission of notifications and supplementary information.Article 52Confidentiality rules for the rapid alert system1. However, in eMERGENCIES, the Commission may provisionally adopt the measures referred to in paragraph 1 after consulting the Member State(s) concerned and informing the other Member States.As soon as possible, and at most within 10 working days, the measures taken shall be confirmed, amended, revoked or extended in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 58(2), and the reasons for the Commission's decision shall be made public without delay.Article 54Other emergency measures1. Food and feed exported or re-exported from the Community for placing on the market of a third country shall comply with the relevant requirements of food law, unless otherwise requested by the authorities of the importing country or established by the laws, regulations, standards, codes of practice and other legal and administrative procedures as may be in force in the importing country.In other circumstances, except in the case where foods are injurious to health or feeds are unsafe, food and feed can only be exported or re-exported if the competent authorities of the country of destination have expressly agreed, after having been fully informed of the reasons for which and the circumstances in which the food or feed concerned could not be placed on the market in the Community.2. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2001/57/EC. 2. The evaluation and the recommendations shall be made public.2. (19) It is recognised that scientific risk assessment alone cannot, in some cases, provide all the information on which a risk management decision should be based, and that other factors relevant to the matter under consideration should legitimately be taken into account including societal, economic, traditional, ethical and environmental factors and the feasibility of controls. Without prejudice to the applicable provisions of Community and national law on access to documents, where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a food or feed may present a risk for human or animal health, then, depending on the nature, seriousness and extent of that risk, public authorities shall take appropriate steps to inform the general public of the nature of the risk to health, identifying to the fullest extent possible the food or feed, or type of food or feed, the risk that it may present, and the measures which are taken or about to be taken to prevent, reduce or eliminate that risk. stream (48) The Authority should also be able to commission scientific studies necessary for the accomplishment of its duties, while ensuring that the links established by it with the Commission and the Member States prevent duplication of effort. Where international standards exist or their completion is imminent, they shall be taken into consideration in the development or adaptation of food law, except where such standards or relevant parts would be an ineffective or inappropriate means for the fulfilment of the legitimate objectives of food law or where there is a scientific justification, or where they would result in a different level of protection from the one determined as appropriate in the Community.Article 6Risk analysis1. of 1 February 2006. amending Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council to establish Annex I listing the food and feed products to which maximum levels for pesticide residues apply (Text with EEA relevance) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Where different requests are made on the same issues or where the request is not in accordance with paragraph 2, or is unclear, the Authority may either refuse, or propose amendments to a request for an opinion in consultation with the institution or Member State(s) that made the request. If invited to do so, they may assist for the purposes of clarification or information but shall not seek to influence discussions. This Regulation provides the basis for the assurance of a high level of protection of human health and consumers' interest in relation to food, taking into account in particular the diversity in the supply of food including traditional products, whilst ensuring the effective functioning of the internal market. 9„&ˆd#œ*ÍT"@C¾~4T,h€À•yÇ* íÄî`-¦n3&!FöJ†&†;Œ‰æ¦Œ. The evaluation and the recommendations shall be made public. "risk management" means the process, distinct from risk assessment, of weighing policy alternatives in consultation with interested parties, considering risk assessment and other legitimate factors, and, if need be, selecting appropriate prevention and control options;13. Regulation (EC) 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council, lays down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishes the European Food Safety Authority and lays down procedures in matters of food safety. By 31 March each year at the latest, the Management Board shall adopt the draft estimates including the provisional list of posts accompanied by the preliminary work programme and forward them to the Commission, and the States with which the Community has concluded the agreements referred to in Article 49. However, as the quality of water intended for human consumption is already controlled by Council Directives 80/778/EEC(5) and 98/83/EC(6), it suffices to consider water after the point of compliance referred to in Article 6 of Directive 98/83/EC. In 2000, the European Commission issued a Communication on the Precautionary Principle.The objective of the Communication is to outline the Commission's approach t… Moreover, the auditing of accounts should be undertaken by the Court of Auditors. (59) A system for rapid alert already exists in the framework of Council Directive 92/59/EEC of 29 June 1992 on general product safety(8). When Member States adopt measures governing food, these differences may impede the free movement of food, create unequal conditions of competition, and may thereby directly affect the functioning of the internal market. Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety It shall ensure close cooperation between the Authority and the competent bodies in the Member States in particular on the following items:(a) avoidance of duplication of the Authority's scientific studies with Member States, in accordance with Article 32;(b) in those circumstances identified in Article 30(4), where the Authority and a national body are obliged to cooperate;(c) in the promoting of the European networking of organisations operating within the fields of the Authority's mission, in accordance with Article 36(1);(d) where the Authority or a Member State identifies an emerging risk.5. In particular, the Authority should be able to assign certain tasks to organisations in the Member States. 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety %PDF-1.4 In determining whether any food is unfit for human consumption, regard shall be had to whether the food is unacceptable for human consumption according to its intended use, for reasons of contamination, whether by extraneous matter or otherwise, or through putrefaction, deterioration or decay.6. The scope of the existing system includes food and industrial products but not feed. xœc```b`à8ÎÀÎÀÀéÏ È€ ‚¬@QŽ¼à…hÃõ;x(ÈLa»À’Çø’aŸÃâ„ÀZüüÌÚLïí&+„=P7cEÃú® ª¼&ì˜ý˜Õ€F±©F&MÙؓÌHH3ìLŠ8¦¢Â±±Ù‘™SH'ñð A„G,]`Á$× ‡…ÍB”ŽñÊØ4 These should include issues having a direct or indirect impact on the safety of the food and feed supply chains, animal health and welfare, and plant health. 1. 0000004585 00000 n The Authority shall forward the results of its work in the field of data collection to the European Parliament, the Commission and the Member States.Article 34Identification of emerging risks1. (8) The Community has chosen a high level of health protection as appropriate in the development of food law, which it applies in a non-discriminatory manner whether food or feed is traded on the internal market or internationally. 1. The Member States shall immediately inform the Commission of the action implemented or measures taken following receipt of the notifications and supplementary information transmitted under the rapid alert system. The Commission shall be responsible for managing the network. This document shall be made public. (45) The Authority should take over the role of the Scientific Committees attached to the Commission in issuing scientific opinions in its field of competence. Food that complies with specific Community provisions governing food safety shall be deemed to be safe insofar as the aspects covered by the specific Community provisions are concerned.8. /OutputCondition <> /OutputConditionIdentifier (Custom) /RegistryName 0000001892 00000 n 2. It shall provide opinions on multisectoral issues falling within the competence of more than one Scientific Panel, and on issues which do not fall within the competence of any of the Scientific Panels.Where necessary, and particularly in the case of subjects which do not fall within the competence of any of the Scientific Panels, the Scientific Committee shall set up working groups. Where the Authority has information leading it to suspect an emerging serious risk, it shall request additional information from the Member States, other Community agencies and the Commission. (44) The Authority should cooperate closely with competent bodies in the Member States if it is to operate effectively. Where the provisions of a bilateral agreement concluded between the Community or one of its Member States and a third country are applicable, food and feed exported from the Community or that Member State to that third country shall comply with the said provisions. (58) It is necessary to allow for the participation of European countries which are not members of the European Union and which have concluded agreements obliging them to transpose and implement the body of Community law in the field covered by this Regulation. Those rules shall specify, in particular, the criteria for inclusion of an institute on the list of competent organisations designated by the Member States, arrangements for setting out harmonised quality requirements and the financial rules governing any financial support.4. (49) The lack of an effective system of collection and analysis at Community level of data on the food supply chain is recognised as a major shortcoming. As soon as possible and within three months of such communication, the European Parliament may make its views available for consideration by the Council, which will then appoint the Management Board.The members of the Board shall be appointed in such a way as to secure the highest standards of competence, a broad range of relevant expertise and, consistent with these, the broadest possible geographic distribution within the Union.2.