Food safety standards from industry in the European union

What is it about?

Food safety regulation in the EU is a complex arrangement of public laws and private food standards. This chapter discusses the structure of private food safety standards and the complex relationship of these private standards with public regulation in the EU. Private standards are very common in the food industry in many European countries. Food safety standards such as BRC, IFC and FSSC22000 are initiated and supported by powerful retailers and food manufacturers. Although compliance with these standards is not obliged by law, food business operators in particular markets are in fact forced to join a private certification scheme. Private standards are managed by a standard-owner. Verification of compliance of the major standards is delegated to accredited third-party certification bodies. The norms of private standards are built upon public standards (Codex, EU, ISO). The EU legal framework reinforced the proliferation of private food standards. Private standards did pioneering work in modernizing food regulation. Current EU food law benefitted from the experience of standard-owners, certification bodies and food industry with private standards. The EU legal framework allows public authorities in the Member States to take account of private food safety assurance schemes in their official controls. In several countries, authorities responsible for official food safety controls are investigating ways to collaborate with private food safety assurance systems as part of their monitoring and enforcement tasks. This development raises questions about the reliability of third party certification, the exchange of information between private and public actors, and the risks of regulatory capture and conflicts of interest.

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Why is it important?

Currently most food laws within the Member States of the European Union are based on EU law. Next to governments, private actors also increasingly engage in food regulation. Private food safety standards and other food standards have gained an important position in the European regulatory space. In particular corporate retailers and multinational food manufacturers have initiated and promoted private food safety standards. An analysis of food safety regulation in the EU cannot be limited to public laws and should include private standards as well. This paper discusses the structure of private food safety standards and the complex relationship of these private standards with public regulation in the EU.