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Aspects of European food policy

Internet chat with David Byrne

On 8 November 2000, David Byrne, the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection took part in a live Internet chat session. The session was a part of the activities to promote the discussion on the EU proposals for an EU Regulation that will lay down the general principles of European Food Law and create a European Food Authority. The full text of the discussions is available at the following URL: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/intro/chat_transcript_en.pdf

The Commission's proposals were discussed in the last article in this series. The full text is at the following URL: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/intro/efa_prop_en.pdf

Food contaminants and residues

The European Commission has established a Web presence that summarises recent EU developments relating to the contamination of foods from chemical and pharmaceutical sources and the control of residues from these sources.

The relevant URL is: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sfp/fcr_index_en.html

This URL gives links to a range of information.

The authors of the site remind readers of the principles that underpin EU legislation with respect to contaminants:

  • Food containing an unacceptable level of a contaminant should not be placed on the market.

  • Contaminant levels should always be kept as low as is achievable through good practice.

  • Maximum levels will be set for certain contaminants to protect public health.

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