Combating fraud in the marketing of foods - restoring consumer confidence

In cases of suspected fraud in the areas of human food and animal feed, the European Commission has powers to recommend coordinated EU-wide plans to establish the prevalence of hazards and risks in feed, food or animals.

ACT

Commission recommendation of 19 February 2013 on a coordinated control plan with a view to establish the prevalence of fraudulent practices in the marketing of certain foods (2013/99/EU)

SUMMARY

In early 2013, official controls in several Member States revealed that certain pre-packaged products, such as hamburgers, contained horsemeat, which was not declared in the list of ingredients appearing directly on the package or on the package labelling. The labelling on these foods misleadingly referred solely to the presence of beef, an ingredient whose price is considerably higher than that of horsemeat.

Horsemeat is a legitimate ingredient in its own right if derived from food-producing horses slaughtered in approved abattoirs and if it passes the necessary veterinary inspections. The issue was further compounded by the fact that the use of the veterinary drug phenylbutazone is permitted in the case of the non-food producing horses. It was feared that horsemeat from these origins had entered the human food chain.

These circumstances led to the European authorities (European Commission and the European Food Safety Authority), together with the Member States’ competent authorities, aided by Europol, working closely together to investigate the extent of the problem, develop a plan to address it and restore consumers’ confidence in the food they buy.

A coordinated Europe-wide control plan to establish the prevalence of fraudulent practices was drawn up by the Commission and national authorities had to take two actions:

• controls of food marketed and/or labelled as containing beef to see if it contained horsemeat;
• controls of horsemeat destined for human consumption to detect the possible presence of phenylbutazone residues.

All positive results had to be immediately notified to the Commission and were further relayed throughout the EU by means of the rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF).

This coordinated EU-wide action yielded rapid results with the identification of those involved in the food production chain and a recall of the products that were identified.

Further actions taken include:

• the establishment within the Commission’s department responsible for health and consumers (DG Health and Consumers) of an EU food fraud team;
• the adoption in May 2013 by the Commission of a package of proposals to strengthen the enforcement of health and safety standards for the whole agri-food chain; these proposals would, among other things, require member countries to fully integrate anti-fraud checks into their national control plans and ensure that financial penalties in case of fraud are set at dissuasive levels;
• a report on the possibility of extending mandatory origin labelling for meat used as an ingredient in pre-packed foods to be prepared by the Commission under a new EU law on food information for consumers, which comes into force in December 2014, was brought forward to December 2013. The Commission is considering whether to table a legislative proposal.

Proposals

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on animal health. (COM(2013) 260 final of 6.5.2013 - not published in the Official Journal)

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health, plant reproductive material, plant protection products and amending Regulations (EC) No 999/2001, 1829/2003, 1831/2003, 1/2005, 396/2005, 834/2007, 1099/2009, 1069/2009, 1107/2009, Regulations (EU) No 1151/2012, [….]/2013, and Directives 98/58/EC, 1999/74/EC, 2007/43/EC, 2008/119/EC, 2008/120/EC and 2009/128/EC (Official Controls Regulation). (COM(2013) 265 final of 6.5.2013 - not published in the Official Journal).

Communication

Communication from the European Commission to the Council and the European Parliament: Healthier animals and plants and a safer agri-food chain - A modernised legal framework for a more competitive EU. (COM(2013) 264 final of 6.5.2013 - not published in the Official Journal)

Last updated: 05.02.2014