EU Food Law Research Articles

EJRR Special Issue: The Future of Food Law after and Beyond the Farm to Fork Strategy

AbstractThis Special Issue stems from some of the insights at the “Future of Food Law” Conference held at Wageningen University and Research (WUR) in 2023, prompting an examination of the Farm to Fork (F2F) Strategy’s achievements and shortcomings. With the von der Leyen Commission’s term concluding, the paper critically assesses key aspects of the F2F Strategy, laying the foundation for an in-depth discussion presented in six contributions. The exploration extends from US and EU perspectives to national considerations, moving even further and beyond the boundaries of the Strategy. It encompasses emerging views on food safety, fostering fair and sustainable agri-food production models, encouraging healthier and democratic food choices, and reevaluating decision-making distribution from EU to Member States in sustainability regulatory actions. This issue aims to probe how agri-food regulatory frameworks should adapt to current challenges, acknowledging new economic, social, and environmental expectations. As a frame to the six contributions, this paper addresses the substantial delay in implementing crucial food law interventions, with a focus on the legislative Framework for Sustainable Food Systems (SFSF). The paper concludes by outlining potential scenarios for the future of EU food law, emphasising the necessity for establishing a guiding principle of sustainability for food systems.

Rethinking Consumer Empowerment: New Directions for Sustainable Food Law in an Era of EU Discontent

AbstractEU food law is built on two paradigms – food safety and consumer choice. Consumers should have access to any food they like, provided that it is safe for consumption and that consumers are made aware of the products’ characteristics through adequate information. Growing emphasis on sustainability has not challenged these foundations. On the contrary, the law is intended as a tool to further empower consumers to make a healthy and environmentally responsible choice. However, it will be argued that this information centric approach is no longer a tenable position. The regulatory solutions characteristic of the consumer empowerment logic are of limited effectiveness and do not challenge the biggest obstacles to the sustainable transition of food systems – the commodification of food and the lack of regulation of the food environment. This contribution sketches out some far-reaching yet realistic food law reforms to genuinely address sustainability issues. Mindful of the special status of food and the growing discontent towards the EU and the green transition, this contribution also argues for some changes in the making and design of EU food law, leading towards greater involvement of citizens and local communities, and, ultimately, for truer empowerment of individuals.

Healthier Food of Animal Origin and Prevention of Campylobacteriosis

Campylobacter species belong to the most important foodborne bacteria which cause gastroenteritis in humans in both developed and developing countries. Applied hygienic measures result only partially efficient, as demonstrated by the high number of reported cases in the human population. Alternative strategies to prevent the disease though a direct action at primary production level have been explored. Preliminary data showed that cattle and pigs fed with bamboo and olive by-products, respectively, were free from Campylobacter, suggesting potential sustainable prevention strategy. In addition, biochemical analysis showed high levels of unsaturated fatty acids in red meat and meat products, adequate for the application of health claims in line with EU food law.

‘Average’ Consumers Navigating the New Digital Food Chain: Influencers, Online Reviews and Rankings

With more and more consumers relying on online platforms to buy groceries and meals, traditional food labelling has been trumped by information arising from new features of today’s digital commerce. Instead of being affected by objective data on products’ origin, nutrition characteristics and allergens, individuals are increasingly drawn to feelings and perceptions conveyed by influencers’ experiences, online ratings, and rankings. In this sense, food information has become a different and larger notion than that on which EU Food Law is based on. This article examines the dynamics affecting the behaviour of food consumers online and how – and better yet, whether – EU law is responding to the challenges they raise. Food information, delivery platforms, behavioural consumer protection, influencers, online review, online rankings, Food Information to Consumers Regulation, Digital Services Act, Better Enforcement and Modernisation Directive, Platform-to-Business Regulation

The European Agri-Food Legislation and Trade Agreements in the Context of the covid-19 Crisis

Abstract This article performs an assessment of the EU Agri-food legislation in the context of the covid-19 crisis: new priorities into a new scenario. Taking the General Food Law as a focal point, this article analyses and explains the institutional, substantive, and procedural elements of EU food law and his intersection with International Trade Law. Principles are discussed as well as specific rules addressing food as a product, the processes related to food and communication about food to consumers. In fact, it is interesting to retrace the points of contact that food legislation shares with other legal disciplines since it is well known that the matter has a cross-cutting scope, i.e., from Agricultural Law to ip Law, from Criminal Law to International Trade Law. Although, the importance of food and related trade issues have always been regulated in times of emergency, as the bse crisis (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, commonly known as “mad cow disease”) or during a worldwide pandemic (covid-19). However, until the publication of the Reg. 178/2002, it would have been impossible any given attempt to attribute the requisites of a coherent legal framework to the disordered, episodic, and often dictated by hot reactions of Food Law, understood as a system of rules ordered based on its own principles. Progress made by regulatory interventions that allows today to observe the matter under a different angle. In fact, attention is given to the international context (wto, Codex Alimentarius) as well as to the relationship with food trade policies and the current legal framework and regulatory provisions (such as those contained in Chapter i and ii) of Reg. 178/2002, the latter titled General Food Law.

Alternative proteins and EU food law

We ask how European food law impacts the transformative potential of alternative proteins, including single-cell proteins, plant-based novel proteins, cultured meat,macroalgae, and insects. The Novel Food Regulation may prove insurmountable for small companies, and it is demanding and time-consuming even for larger companies,dampening the transformative potential of all novel foods and traditional foods from third countries. Several microalgae and macroalgae are non-novel in the EU, which eases their way into the markets. The unclear novel food status of some potential green macroalgae species is a hindrance. All insects are novel, and none has EU-level authorization yet, although some Member States allow insect food. The GM Food Regulation is procedurally and scientifically demanding, and it forces GM labelling. The Regulation dampens the transformative potential of food GM technology. In addition to crops and fruit, GM Food Regulation applies to genetically modified or edited microbes,microalgae, cultured meat, and insects. The naming and labelling rules of plant-based products have caused controversy. From the business perspective, the health claims process is similarly challenging as the novel food process. EU food law must guarantee food safety and consumer rights while applying the principles of nondiscrimination and proportionality.

Applicability of the German Food Based Dietary Guidelines for Infancy to Estimate Exposure to Substances in Food – The Example of Erucic Acid

ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to use the recommended total daily food amounts of the German ‘Dietary Scheme for the first year of life’ (for the first time) to calculate the potential exposure of substances in the infant diet from a public health perspective. Erucic acid was taken as a concrete example, because the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) recently issued a Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for erucic acid with a special note that vulnerable groups, especially young children, may be particularly at risk of exceeding the TDI. MethodsThe age of about 1 month with the highest consumption per kg body weight was chosen for scenarios for the phase of exclusive milk feeding, the age of about 8 months for the CF phase. Principle of calculation was: erucic acid exposure = food consumption volume per kg bodyweight per day x erucic acid concentration in food (from European studies for breastmilk, EFSA food samples for formula, current German market analysis for rapeseed oil, EU food law). We calculated 6 scenarios for the milk phase (4 formula-feeding, 2 breastfeeding) and 8 scenarios for the CF phase (5 CF + formula-feeding, 3 CF + breastfeeding). ResultsOut of the 14 scenarios, only 3 resulted in exposures in the safe range below the TDI (range 4.4.– 6.0 mg/kg BW). All scenarios assuming either high consumption (p95) or high concentration led to high exceedances of the TDI (range 7.5–26.2 mg/kg BW), especially when using maximum values of EU law for formula or vegetable oils (33.6 and 43.2 mg/kg BW respectively). ConclusionsThe Dietary Scheme proved to be a suitable frame to calculate the potential exposure of substances in foods forming the daily infant diet. The results give cause for concern, as the calculated high exposure to erucic acid in the scenarios occurs during infancy as a particularly sensitive developmental period and results from the food-based recommendations as public health guidelines. Considering the scarcity of data, in addition to the proven low erucic acid concentrations in rapeseed oil in Germany, it is imperative to analyze the erucic acid content of mature breast milk and formula as well. Funding SourcesUnion for the Promotion of Oil and Protein Plants (UFOP, Berlin, Germany).

LEGAL REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION POLICY IN THE FIELD OF CONSUMER RIGHTS IN THE FOOD MARKET

The article is devoted to research of the historical retrospective of the legislation of the European Union in the field of health and safety of consumers. Methods for improving the quality of EU law-making and law enforcement activities in the field of consumer health and safety are considered. Regulations and directives adopted by the European Commission became the first EU documents in which consumer protection was defined as a separate area of EU competence. In the European model, the policy of consumer protection in the field of health and safety is not only the establishment and protection of the right to receive quality goods, works and services, but also the protection of health and safety of consumers; providing sufficient information about the product and its manufacturer, granting additional rights when concluding consumer agreements and guaranteeing the realization of these rights. The EU food law system includes general and special parts. The general part includes Regulation (EU) № 178/2002, which in our opinion is the only legal act that establishes the basic principles of EU food law in general. In general, product safety legislation regulates the protection of the health and safety of consumers in the production, placing on the market and consumption of non-food products. EU member states pursue a coordinated policy in the field of consumer protection, taking into account the legislation of the member states, by concluding international agreements, developing recommendations and other methods adopted in international practice. We can conclude that the development of EU legislation in this area is due to many factors, among which we consider it necessary to highlight the scientific and technological progress and change in the general approach of the European Union to the implementation of legal regulation. There is a need to implement the concept of full harmonization, which has a significant impact on new and revised legal acts. This approach to the approximation of legislation is explained by the need to achieve uniform legal regulation of products entering the domestic market, which in the opinion of the legislator will help improve the overall level of product safety and consumer health.

Beyond Food Safety – EU Food Information Standards as a Facilitator of Political Consumerism and International Law Enforcement Mechanism

In Case C-363/18 Organisation juive europeenne, Vignoble Psagot Ltd v Ministre de l’Economie et des Finances (“Occupied Territories case”), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU or Court) was tasked with deciding what information on its country of origin or place of provenance is mandatory for business according to existing European legislation. This casenote summarizes the interpretative decisions taken by the Advocate General Hogan (Advocate General or AG) and the Court in their opinion and judgment, respectively. It then considers the broader implications of this case from several perspectives: first, from the perspective of political consumerism and its (potential) role in EU internal market law; second, from the perspective of the enforcement of international law; and third, from the perspective of the coherence of EU food and consumer law including its behavioural dimension.

Translation of EU Food Law and Nutrient Reference Values Into Practice: the German Dietary Scheme for the First Year of Life.

European dietary regulations affect national dietary guidelines for child nutrition. The update of the German Dietary Scheme for the first year of life is used to examine the translation of European nutrient references into food-based guidelines while maintaining traditional habits. Within the Dietary Scheme, intake of energy and nutrients was calculated in the complementary feeding period for each of the 3 daily recommended complementary meals (a vegetable-potato-meat meal, a milk-cereal meal, a cereal-fruit meal) in addition to the daily liquid-milk servings (breast milk or follow-on formula). Pureed-home-made complementary meals were assumed. The adequacy of nutrient intake was evaluated by comparison with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Dietary Reference Values. Macronutrient content of meals was compared to the European complementary food directive. Daily intake of most nutrients following the scheme was well in line with EFSA values, whereas the commonly 'critical' nutrients iron and iodine remained far below EFSA values. Substituting breast milk or whole cow's milk with follow-on formula had only a small impact on nutrient supply. Although the different nutrient profiles of meals were not fully in line with European regulations, they add up to an overall balanced daily diet. Taken together, European dietary reference values for energy and nutrients can mostly be met by the modular system of the Dietary Scheme as a total diet concept for infant nutrition in Germany. The different proposed meals generally agree with EU regulations for complementary food.

Legal Regulation of the EU Common Agricultural Market

Introduction. The article presents the analysis of legal regulation on the agricultural market of the European Union. The high growth of international economic integration, contributing to the intensification of interstate cooperation for the simplified movement of goods and services induces the harmonization of regulatory and legislative frameworks to develop uniform mechanisms of legal regulation. The diversification of agricultural exports should be considered as one of the highly promising, priority and sustainable trends of agricultural policy. EU law requirements must be taken into account by organizations engaged in foreign economic activities of food supplies. The article gives the updated analysis of the Eurasian Union regulatory framework in the sphere of agricultural products. Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the study comprises the universal dialectic method of scientific knowledge, general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, analogy, induction, deduction, modeling, etc.), particular scientific (logical-legal method, comparative legal method of systemic analysis, etc.). Methods of content analysis of legal documentation, allowing to study key trends in the legal regulation and policies of the European Union in relation to the agricultural market were also used.The results of the study. The conducted analysis revealed that there is a confusing situation in the European Union legislation about the agricultural market. The exceptional attitude to agriculture in the European Union legislation was widely under-mined, which led to serious consequences not only for the interpretation of agricultural provisions in EU law, but also for the legal provisions about the agricultural market in other countries. The article also analyzes the changes in legislation that pave the way for a deeper understanding of agricultural law in the European Union after the reforms introduced by the Lisbon Treaty.Discussion and conclusion. Since 1974, the European Union has developed a wide range of legislative provisions related to agriculture. Pursuant to EU treaties, animals are recognized as living creatures, and therefore the EU and Member States must take due care of animal welfare requirements preparing and implementing policies in agriculture or on the domestic market. Currently, EU legislation on the welfare of farm animals contains specific provisions for the cultivation of poultry, calves and pigs, as well as to all types of agricultural machinery and livestock slaughter. Nevertheless, there are contradictions between the EU Member States stemming from the legal regulation of the common agricultural market in the European Union.The author concludes that the EU food law is comprehensive and aimed to provide consumers with safe and high-quality products, subject to timely and comprehensive information about possible risks. Taking into account the experience of the European Union in the development and correction the relevant legislative system will significantly increase the effectiveness of the measures to increase the export potential of domestic products.

Продовольче та сільськогосподарське (аграрне) право ЄС: проблеми співвідношення

Продовольче та сільськогосподарське (аграрне) право ЄС: проблеми співвідношення

Food Origin Marking in the European Union: Not a Piece of Cake

This article analyses the EU origin marking regime for food products, beginning with an overview of the international trade rules overseeing the entire matter, as well as the general principles of EU food law. The author then points out that the EU origin marking regime for food products has both specific mandatory origin marking regimes applicable to certain food products, as well as a general origin marking statute provided for by Articles 26(2)(a) and 26(3) of the EU Regulation no. 1169/2011 on food information to consumers. Such latter provision requires an implementing act which has been long-awaited and it was recently adopted in the wake of the proliferation of national measures. In particular, the IR no. 2018/775 has eventually provided guidelines on the origin labelling of the primary ingredient of a food product. The author then concludes that the interpretation and application of the above-mentioned set of rules requires a case-by-case analysis and further guidance from the EU Commission to solve all the open interpretation issues.

The Political Space between Words and Things: Health Claims as Referential Displacement

ABSTRACTIn the EU today, health claims on food labels are regulated as a form of information. Before the 2000s, statements referring to health on packaged food were subject to different national regulations across the EU, with different perspectives on where the boundary lies between food and drugs. The turn to more horizontal legislation in EU food law and increased emphasis on the role of information for the functioning of the Single Market does not in itself explain why, and especially how, health-related statements on food products have been turned into information and what consequences this has produced. Construction of such a European ‘technological zone’, where health claims circulate as a form of information, can be understood as ‘information's constitutive outside’ (Barry, A. (2006) Technological zones, European Journal of Social Theory, 9(2), pp. 239–253; Barry, A. (2013) Material Politics: Disputes along the Pipeline (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell)). This outside hinges on techno-political discussion, lobbying and decisions where the boundary between health and disease is at stake, along with food's materiality. The concept of referential displacement shows how decisions in the regulatory process have transformed controversial references to human health on food labels into ‘health claims’ as an informational category by shifting the relation between the health claim and its material referents: food itself, health and the body. Referential displacement produces a new kind of information that implies similar efficacy to pharmaceutical drugs, without interfering with the zone or market of pharmaceuticals.

The Safe Food Principle. A Critical Reflection on the Key Concept of EU Food Safety Law

The most fundamental notion underlying the reform of EU food safety law has been codified in Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) 178/2002: food shall not be placed on the market if it is unsafe. This notion has been elaborated in most of the rest of EU food law, first and foremost in the other paragraphs of Article 14. This contribution analyses Article 14 and argues in favour of a text-conform interpretation.

Codex Alimentarius: The Impact of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme on EU Food Law

The FAO and the WHO have set up a joint food standards programme with at its core the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Codex Alimentarius Commission has a membership base of its own. It adopts standards by consensus of its member countries, based on the scientific input from risk assessment bodies that also form part of the joint FAO/WHO food standards programme. The purpose of the standards of the Codex Alimentarius is to harmonise national and regional food legislation at a global level. This paper explores to what extent the influence of the Codex Alimentarius is actually present in EU food law. To this end, it identifies the major fields of EU food law on the basis of a pre-existing framework for analysis. The paper shows that the Codex Alimentarius is present in all these major fields in concepts, methods, principles and rules of conduct for food businesses.

RUNNERS AND RIDERS: THE HORSEMEAT SCANDAL, EU LAW AND MULTI-LEVEL ENFORCEMENT

Abstract The 2013 horsemeat scandal shone a bright light on some of the darkest corners of supply-chain governance across the EU, revealing a blind spot in current EU food law. “Beef” frozen-food products were found to contain up to 100% horse. The British and Irish are squeamish about eating horse. Even for those countries where horsemeat is seen as a delicacy, the horse getting into the frozen “beef” was often of poor quality and possibly contaminated with “bute”, a veterinary drug not permitted in food for human consumption. The ability of the EU's regulatory regime to prevent fraud on such a scale was shown to be inadequate. EU food law, with its (over) emphasis on food safety, failed to prevent the occurrence of fraud and may even have played an (unintentional) role in facilitating or enhancing it. Domestic law offered little better protection, thus showing the difficulties associated with the implementation of a multi-level and multi-agency regulatory regime. Beyond the regulatory system, the EU's core Treaty commitment to the free movement of goods may also have laid the ground for complex and opaque supply chains into which unscrupulous traders and middlemen could slip unnoticed.

Evaluation of nutritional characteristics of commercial canned cat diets

To evaluate commercial complete canned cat foods according to their composition, labeling and nutritional characteristics. A total of 21 commercial complete canned compound feeds for adult cats were analyzed for crude nutrients, minerals, vitamins, selected amino acids and taurine. The analyzed parameters were compared to the internal set of standards of the European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF). The energy content was calculated and compared with the labeled recommendations regarding the amounts of diet that should be fed. Analyzed nutrients were compared with the labeled nutrients according to the regulations of the EU food and feed law (directive EU regulation 767/2009). In many cases, the labeled feeding protocols did not match the calculated daily energy requirements. In eight complete foods, the recommended daily feed amounts were underestimated and four recommendations exceeded energy requirements of adult cats. In 12 complete foods, the calcium and phosphorus contents were threefold higher than the respective requirement. In 16 of 21 complete foods, substantial discrepancies were observed between the recommendations and the analyzed trace elements. In particular, selenium contents exceeded the selenium requirement more than threefold. The vitamin, arginine and taurine contents showed no significant discrepancies to the recommendations. With respect to the labeled nutrients, there were only minor deviations from the regulations of the European law. In general, healthy adult cats are adequately supplied with energy and nutrients when feeding commercial canned complete diets for cats. In cases of body weight loss or gain, the labelled feed amounts should be questioned. The high phosphorus contents are an issue of concern, because a high phosphorus intake can potentially increase the risk for urinary stones and particularly for older cats the risk for renal insufficiency. Furthermore, it is recommended to decrease the high selenium levels by the reduction of selenium-rich feed materials such as offal.

Expertise for the future: learning and training in the area of food safety risk assessment

EFSA depends on a system of scientific panels, working groups and the expertise of its staff to perform its role in providing high-quality scientific opinions through food safety risk assessment. The centralisation of the evaluation at the EU level not only intends to increase efficiency, but also may represent a challenge with regard to maintaining and developing expertise in the areas of food, feed, plant, animal and environmental risk assessment. The food risk assessment requires a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach: excellence in relevant fields of science is a prerequisite, although knowledge of the full risk analysis process, the EU food law, consumer behaviour, international relations and skills in risk communication is also needed. To handle future challenges regarding food safety risk assessment in an ever-changing and increasingly complex environment, the appropriate expertise needs to be identified and a model of specialised and continuous training is required. The state of the art and the future of education in risk assessment are presented. The following issues are put forward in this special issue: new technologies implemented in risk assessment training; current developments in higher education and training on food safety risk assessment and regulatory science in the EU and worldwide; challenges in training on general risk assessment, food safety risk assessment and environmental risk assessment; best practices and techniques; future developments in capacity building for risk assessment training; and the increased need for training of professionals.

The EU’s Precautionary Principle in Food Law is an Information Tool!

The precautionary principle in EU food law is a tool primarily for regulatory agencies to acquire information on whether they can justify regulatory intervention under the principle that preventive action shall be taken. The precautionary principle is hence an information tool, while the principle that preventive action shall be taken is the basis for content-related regulation to directly further social goals in internal market regulation.