International Journal of Food Studies
Sign in
Issue image

More articles from Volume 2, Issue 1, 2013

Antioxidants, their properties, uses in food products and their legal implications

The impact of cold chain temperature abuses on the quality of frozen strawberries (Fragaria ×ananassa)

National Food Safety Systems in the European Union: A Comparative Survey

Effect of antioxidant and optimal antimicrobial mixtures of carvacrol, grape seed extract and chitosan on different spoilage microorganisms and their application as coatings on different food matrices

Effect of Biopreservatives on Storage Life of Papaya (Carica papaya L.)

National Food Safety Systems in the European Union: A Comparative Survey

Andreas Hadjigeorgiou ,
Andreas Hadjigeorgiou
View authors publications

Search this author on:

PubMed | Google Scholar
Elpidoforos S. Soteriades ,
Elpidoforos S. Soteriades
View authors publications

Search this author on:

PubMed | Google Scholar
Anastasios Philalithis ,
Anastasios Philalithis
View authors publications

Search this author on:

PubMed | Google Scholar
Anna Psaroulaki ,
Anna Psaroulaki
View authors publications

Search this author on:

PubMed | Google Scholar
Yiannis Tselentis ,
Yiannis Tselentis
View authors publications

Search this author on:

PubMed | Google Scholar
Achilleas Gikas
Achilleas Gikas
View authors publications

Search this author on:

PubMed | Google Scholar

Published: 01.12.2012.

Volume 2, Issue 1 (2013)

https://doi.org/10.7455/ijfs/2.1.2013.a8

Abstract

This paper is a comparative survey of the National Food Safety Systems (NFSS) of the European Union (EU) Member-States (MS) and the Central EU level. The main organizational structures of the NFSS, their legal frameworks, their responsibilities, their experiences, and challenges relating to food safety are discussed. Growing concerns about food safety have led the EU itself, its MS and non-EU countries, which are EU trade-partners, to review and modify their food safety systems. Our study suggests that the EU and 22 out of 27 Member States (MS) have reorganized their NFSS by establishing a single food safety authority or a similar organization on the national or central level. In addition, the study analyzes different approaches towards the establishment of such agencies. Areas where marked differences in approaches were seen included the division of responsibilities for risk assessment (RA), risk management (RM), and risk communication (RC). We found that in 12 Member States, all three areas of activity (RA, RM, and RC) are kept together, whereas in 10 Member States, risk management is functionally or institutionally separate from risk assessment and risk communication. No single ideal model for others to follow for the organization of a food safety authority was observed; however, revised NFSS, either in EU member states or at the EU central level, may be more effective from the previous arrangements, because they provide central supervision, give priority to food control programs, and maintain comprehensive risk analysis as part of their activities.

Citation

Copyright

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Article metrics

Google scholar: See link

The statements, opinions and data contained in the journal are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s). We stay neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Most read articles

Indexed by
Scopus
DOAJ
Sherpa-Romero
Google Scholar
Crossref