Summaries of EU legislation
Food safety

The European Union's food safety policy aims to protect consumers, while guaranteeing the smooth operation of the single market. Dating from 2003, the policy centres on the concept of traceability both of inputs (e.g. animal feed) and of outputs (e.g. primary production, processing, storage, transport and retail sale).
The EU has agreed standards to ensure food hygiene, animal health and welfare, and plant health and to control contamination from external substances, such as pesticides. Rigorous checks are carried out at every stage, and imports (e.g. meat) from outside the EU are required to meet the same standards and go through the same checks as food produced within the EU.
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Food
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Food – general rules
- Authorisation, import and manufacture of veterinary medicines
- Specific rules on organic production, labelling and control
- Single Market Programme
- The precautionary principle
- Methods of sampling and analysis for the control of levels of certain elements in foodstuffs
- Marketing of vegetable seed
- Marketing of seeds of agricultural crops
- ‘Farm to fork’ strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system
- EU rules on the authorisation, import and production of veterinary medicines
- Enforcing EU rules for the agri-food chain
- Combating fraud in the marketing of foods - restoring consumer confidence
- Food safety bodies
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Labelling and nutrition
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Food labelling legislation
- Coffee and chicory extracts
- Specific rules on organic production, labelling and control
- Traceability of pre-packaged foods
- Production and labelling of organic products (until 2021)
- Quick-frozen food
- Marketing of seeds of agricultural crops
- Labelling of foodstuffs
- Genetically modified organisms — traceability and labelling
- Fruit juices and similar products
- Fruit jams and sweetened chestnut purée
- Identification and labelling of beef and veal
- EU rules for the marketing of fruit plants
- EU rules on producing and labelling organic products (from 2022)
- EU labelling rules for honey
- Ecolabel
- Food supplements
- Natural mineral waters
- Food for specific groups
- Nutrition and health claims
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Food labelling legislation
- Food improvement agents
- New foodstuff types
- Biological safety
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Chemical safety
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Chemical safety – general rules
- Fighting water pollution from agricultural nitrates
- Tackling threats posed by chemicals (Stockholm Convention)
- Use, storage and trade of mercury
- Safe food processing: common standards for extraction solvents
- Safe and effective fertilisers on the EU market (from 2022)
- Safe and effective fertilisers on the EU market
- Methods of sampling and analysis for the control of levels of certain elements in foodstuffs
- Contaminants
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Food packaging & containers
- Active and intelligent materials and articles that come into contact with food
- Regenerated cellulose film wrappers in contact with food
- Recycled plastic packaging in contact with food
- Olive oil analysis
- Restriction of epoxy derivatives in food contact materials
- Plastic materials and articles in contact with food
- Materials and articles in contact with food — good manufacturing practice
- Import of plastic kitchenware from China
- Food safety – safe food contact materials
- Deregulation of pack sizes
- Ceramic objects in contact with foodstuffs
- Hormones in meat
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Chemical safety – general rules
- Animal feed
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Food – general rules
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Animal health
- Enforcing EU rules for the agri-food chain
- The EU animal health law
- Medicated animal feed — manufacture, marketing and use
- Monitoring of zoonoses and zoonotic agents
- Information management system for official controls to ensure compliance with agri-food chain rules
- Animal diseases
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Animal welfare
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Livestock farming
- Animal welfare — protection of chickens kept for meat production
- Specific rules on organic production, labelling and control
- Protection of pigs
- Protection of laying hens
- Protection of farmed animals
- Protection of calves intended for slaughter
- European Convention for the protection of animals kept for farming purposes
- EU-Chile agreement on trade in organic products
- Animal welfare during transport
- Slaughter
- Other animal welfare issues
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Livestock farming
- Trade and imports
- Identification
- Semen, ova and embryos
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Plant health
- Information management system for official controls to ensure compliance with agri-food chain rules
- Protection against plant pests
- Plant health and biosecurity
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Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) – rules & consumers protection
- Authorisation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the EU
- Unauthorised genetically modified rice in rice products from China — emergency measures
- Regulating GM crops: EU countries’ rights
- Genetically modified organisms — unique identifiers
- Genetically modified organisms — traceability and labelling
- Genetically modified food & feed
- Exports of genetically modified organisms to non-EU countries
- EU country flexibility in genetically modified organism cultivation
- Contained use of genetically modified microorganisms
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Pesticides & fertilisers
- Fighting water pollution from agricultural nitrates
- Using sewage sludge in farming
- Supplementary protection certificates for medicines and plant protection products
- Safe insect repellents, disinfectants and other industrial chemicals (biocides) in the EU
- Safe and effective fertilisers on the EU market (from 2022)
- Safe and effective fertilisers on the EU market
- Pesticide safety on the EU market
- Pesticide residues in food and animal feed
- Pesticides in the EU — ensuring their sustainable use
- Protecting health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants
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Archived summaries
- Accession of the European Community to the Codex Alimentarius Commission
- Action plan on animal welfare 2006-2010
- Animal by-products not intended for human consumption
- Animal nutrition: specifications on certain proteins
- Animal products for human consumption: animal health rules
- Aquaculture animals and products – health rules
- Arrangements for agricultural imports following Chernobyl
- Arrangements for exporting foodstuffs and feedingstuffs following a nuclear accident
- Assistance and cooperation with scientific examination
- Ban on trade in cat and dog fur
- Avian influenza
- Bird imports
- Biocides (until 1 September 2013)
- Bluetongue
- BSE: state of play in March 2003
- Checks on the imports of live animals
- Combating hunger: strategy for food security
- Community strategy against antimicrobial resistance
- Community strategy concerning mercury
- Community strategy for dioxins, furans and PCBs
- Conditions for imports of equine animals for slaughter
- Control measures: fish diseases
- Cosmetic products (until 2013)
- Dietary foods for special medical purposes
- Ensuring proper checks on food and animal feed
- EU spending on information about food and animal feed
- EU veterinary certification requirements for poultry and poultry products from non-EU countries, territories or zones
- European Convention on the protection of animals at the time of slaughter
- European Union Animal Health Strategy (2007-2013)
- Geographical Indications and Designations of Origin
- Horses (semen, ova & embryos) – trade within the EU
- Green Paper on agricultural product quality
- Executive Agency for Health and Consumers
- Export and storage of mercury
- Food products of animal origin – official controls
- Identification and registration of pigs
- Identification and registration of sheep and goats
- Improving communication on agricultural product quality
- Importing conditions and quarantine requirements for birds
- Imports and transit of certain ungulate animals
- Imports of products
- Fighting foot-and-mouth disease
- Health requirements for the import and trade of animals in the EU
- Health rules for movement and trade of horses
- Notification of animal diseases
- Monitoring substances having a hormonal action and other substances in animals and animal products
- Mutual assistance between national administrations
- Marketing of pure-bred animals
- Materials and articles containing vinyl chloride monomer
- Maximum level of radioactive contamination in foodstuffs
- Measures against African horse sickness
- Measures for controlling classical swine fever
- New (novel) foods and food ingredients
- Intra-Community trade in bovine pure-bred breeding animals
- Intra-Community trade in breeding pigs
- Intra-Community trade in pure-bred breeding sheep and goats
- Intra-EU trade in and imports of bovine embryos
- Intra-EU trade in and imports of bovine semen
- Non-commercial movements of pet animals
- Non-commercial movements of pet animals
- Intra-EU trade in ovine and caprine animals
- Intra-EU trade in poultry and hatching eggs
- Intra-EU trade in bovine animals and swine
- Plan for food/feed crisis management
- Plant protection products prohibited (until June 2011)
- Protection against organisms harmful to plants
- Preventing and controlling African swine fever
- Preventing the spread of animal diseases such as swine vesicular disease
- Release of N-nitrosamines from rubber teats
- Production and marketing of eggs and chicks
- Products of animal origin — protecting human and animal health
- Pig semen: intra-EU trade and imports
- Placing on the market of aquaculture animals and products
- Safe imports of milk and dairy products
- Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health
- Veterinary and zootechnical checks of animals and products in trade within the EU
- Testing migration of plastic materials in contact with foodstuffs
- The placing of plant protection products on the market (until June 2011)
- Towards a thematic strategy on the sustainable use of pesticides
- TRACES system
- Trade in animal products between EU countries — veterinary checks
- Traditional specialities guaranteed
- Training of food safety control authorities
- SHIFT system
- The fight against Newcastle disease
- Supplementary protection certificate for plant protection products
- Sustainable Consumption, Production and Industry Action Plan
- Veterinary and phytosanitary inspections