Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición
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Food Chain
General Principles of Food Law
The legal bases governing the General Principles of Food Law are Articles 5 to 10 of Regulation 178/2002 of the European Parliament and Council, of 28 January 2002, laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety.
Traceability
Identifying the source of food and feed, as well as their ingredients, is of paramount importance for the protection of consumers; especially when the said products are defective.
Guide for implementing the Traceability system in the food business.
This Guide is intended to facilitate the implementation of the obligations established in Article 18 of Regulation 178/2002of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 28 January 2002.
The said regulation lays down general food law principles and requirements, it establishes the European Food Safety Authority and lays down procedures in matters of food safety, according to which, as of January 1, 2005, the traceability of food and feed should be ensured in all production, processing and distribution stages.
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Guidelines for the application of Articles 11,12,16,17,18,19 and 20 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002
Based on an informal approach, the Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection of the Commission, within the working group comprising experts from Member States, examines issues relating to the application and interpretation of the said regulation, especially in relation to traceability issues. The result of these discussions in included in a guideline document published in the DG SANCO website.
Obligations of food business operators
Businesses are best placed to devise a safe system for supplying food and ensuring that food supplies are safe. Therefore, they hold prime legal responsibility for food safety.
The main objective of general and specific hygiene regulations is to ensure high level consumer protection in relation to food safety.
Consequently, when developing these regulations, an integrated approach to ensure food safety from the primary production site to the marketplace or export has been considered.
This principle has been enshrined in food hygiene and safety regulations, which also set out a number of obligations for businesses.
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