302 Introduction to Human Nutrition
unanimity and the degree to which the European Par-
liament is involved in the process. In legislative initia-
tives, the Commission has sole right of initiating policy.
The legislative process usually starts with the expecta-
tion that the Community should act in a particular
policy area. The prompt for action often comes from
external pressure perhaps in response to pressure from
a particular Member State, the Council of Ministers,
the European Parliament, trade associations, research
on risks and hazards, technical developments, etc.
These infl uences build up pressure for action.
In 1974, a Scientifi c Committee for Food (SCF) was
established by the European Commission “to advise
the Commission on any problem relating to the pro-
tection of the health and safety of persons arising or
likely to arise from the consumption of food, in par-
ticular on nutritional, hygienic and toxicological
issues.” The SCF was located in the Directorate General
Industry (DG111). At various times, scientifi c com-
mittees were criticized on a number of grounds by the
European Parliament and by industry and consumer
NGOs. Following the bovine spongiform encepha-
lopathy (BSE) crisis in the UK, there was a further
decrease in confi dence in the scientifi c committees
and, with the new powers in public health granted by
the Maastricht Treaty, the European Parliament forced
the Commission to totally revise the structures of the
scientifi c committees. Indeed, the Santer Commission
in its very fi rst year almost collapsed under pressure
from the European Parliament to speed up the reform
and to restore consumer confi dence in the issuing of
scientifi c advice to the Commission. A major reorga-
nization of the Commission’s services ensued. The
responsibility for monitoring the implementation of
food safety legislation and for providing scientifi c
advice, hitherto jointly share by the Commissioners
for Agriculture and Industry, was transferred to the
Commissioner for Consumer Affairs. The rationale at
the time was that it was necessary to separate monitor-
ing, compliance with and enforcement of the law from
the law-making function itself. This latter function
remained for a time with the Agriculture and Industry
Commissioners. Two years later, however, the legisla-
tion function on food safety was transferred to the
Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner. The
Commission also announced that the way in which
scientifi c advice on food safety was provided at Euro-
pean level would be reorganized and strengthened. A
Scientifi c Steering Committee to oversee the work of
the eight regrouped scientifi c committees was created.
The Green Paper on the general principles of food law
was published in 1997 to launch a debate on the future
development of EU food law. Its aim was to provide
the Commission with a solid background for a major
program of new or amending legislation it would later
propose in the 2000 White Paper on food safety. In
January 2002 Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 laying
down general principles and requirements of food
law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority
and laying down procedures in matters of food safety
was adopted. The Regulation sets out the general prin-
ciples of EU food law, establishes a European Food
Safety Authority, and establishes a rapid alert system
for the notifi cation of direct or indirect risks to human
health deriving from feed or food, and sets down clear
procedures for the handling by the Commission and
the Member States of food safety emergencies and
crises. The main principles of EU food law contained
in the Regulation includes all food and feed at all
stages of production, processing, and distribution;
food law must be based on a system of risk analysis
founded on risk assessment, risk management, and
risk communication; the precautionary principle will
be applied in the case of a potential risk to human
health where there is scientifi c uncertainty as to what
measures to take; public authorities at all levels will
apply the principle of transparency in consulting with
and informing the public on actual or potential risks
and the actions that are taken or proposed to deal with
them. The Regulation provides for a system to allow
the traceability of all food and feed at all stages of the
food and feed chain; food operators are responsible at
all stages of the food chain for ensuring that the food
they produce complies with the requirements of
food law and must verify that the requirements are
met; food business operators have an obligation, when
they have reason to believe that food that has been
imported, produced, processed, manufactured, or dis-
tributed is not in compliance with requirements, to
withdraw the product from the marketplace, to
inform the responsible public authorities, and to
inform consumers of the reasons for withdrawal; food
imports and exports must meet the requirements of
EU food law.European Food Safety Authority
The primary responsibility of the European Food
Safety Authority (EFSA) is to provide independent