REFIT

The evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 – the ‘General Food Law’ (GFL) – forms part of the European Commission’s Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT).

The purpose of the evaluation was to assess if the regulatory framework established by the GFL is effective and efficient and if it provides added value to stakeholders. We believe this ‘fitness check’ to be of paramount importance to ensure a high level of public health on one hand and a competitive EU industry on the other.

It has also provided opportunities for FEFANA to raise issues and call for improvement, in particular, in the field of fair competition and proper risk assessment and risk management separation.

Over the past years, FEFANA has contributed actively to this exercise through the Working Group of the European Commission’s Directorate General for health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) Advisory Group, by providing position papers and comments, as appropriate.

FEFANA has also taken part in dedicated surveys that have contributed to the development of the REFIT Programme of the GFL per se on one side, and Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) and crisis management procedures on the other side- targeted at key stakeholders involved in the GFL.

We have pointed out that one of the objectives of the REFIT Programme is to improve the regulatory framework and reduce ‘red-tape’ for businesses, as well as to reduce costs and time for EU and Member States’ officials and operators. We also aim at a harmonised risk analysis approach, in which the same principles apply to all EU Member States to ensure comparable results and a level platform for all stakeholders.