New portal ‘EU and My Food’ focuses on food safety measures in the EU

Reviewed by James Ives, M.Psych. (Editor)May 13 2019

As the EFSA Focal Point in Germany, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is also represented in the campaign with publications on the latest challenges, such as antimicrobial resistance and microplastics in food. "Food safety is one of the most urgent tasks of consumer protection," says BfR President, Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel. Through this measure on EU level, risks such as foodborne disease outbreaks and antimicrobial resistance are to be reduced.

The health of humans, animals and the environment is interconnected in many ways. To ensure that fruit and vegetables, meat, milk and eggs are safe, the entire food chain has to be observed - from the field to the shed to the processing plant. The EFSA campaign "EU and My Food" shows how the interplay of agriculture with the food industry and veterinary and health authorities works on EU level. One of the main components and an information anchor of the campaign is the accompanying internet portal in English which leads to the corresponding websites in the 23 other official EU languages. The portal offers more detailed links to food safety topics in the EU member states.

"EU and My Food" focuses on food safety measures in the EU. A video explains the close connection between food safety, livestock farming, environmental protection and nature conservation. Animations illustrate the dependency of humans, animals and the environment with regard to health. These three main pillars of the EU food safety system require safe and nutritious food for people in the EU, improved living conditions for livestock, the sustainable cultivation of food and environmental protection. "EU and My Food" describes how the EU monitors the safety of food in line with internationally recognized scientific standards and in cooperation with the authorities in the member states. Aspects that are monitored include the production, ingredients, processing, storage, packaging and labeling of foods.

Increasing global networking of production and trading processes poses fresh challenges to the safety of food for all stakeholders along the complex international supply chains. Antimicrobial resistance in the food chain is one of the most volatile examples of this.

Source: https://www.bfr.bund.de/en/press_information/2019/15/food_in_the_eu_subject_to_strictest_standards-240656.html