Simpler food and feed safety rules while upholding high health standards and boosting competitiveness of EU producers

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The European Commission has today proposed a package of measures to streamline and simplify EU food and feed safety legislation.

This cross-cutting food and feed safety package will simplify rules and procedures across the EU’s applicable legislation, from plant protection products and biocidal products, to feed, official controls and animal health and welfare. The simplifications proposed could save over €1 billion in compliance costs including over €428 million annually for EU businesses as well as €661 million annually for national administrations. This includes annual administrative savings amounting to €939 million for both businesses and national administrations.

The proposal will reduce administrative costs and burdens, while maintaining the EU’s very strict requirements for food and feed safety, health and environmental protection. Along with the automotive omnibus and simplifying aspects of the medical devices proposal also put forward today, the EU is closer to the goal of €37.5 billion in administrative savings, with approximately €14.3 billion accumulated thus far, €12 billion through omnibus proposals and €2.4 billion through the medical device simplification package also presented today.

Farmers, in particular, are expected to have a greater choice of inputs to produce food, particularly when it comes to innovative products. The proposed simplifications will also incentivise farmers to apply more environmentally friendly plant protection products sooner.

Among the key measures proposed are:

• accelerating procedures for market access for bio-pesticides, ensuring farmers have a comprehensive toolbox for crop protection;  
• making renewal procedures for pesticides and biocides more targeted, efficient and applied faster;
• In line with the Vision for Agriculture, working towards aligning production standards for imports regarding pesticides residues based on outcomes of the ongoing impact assessment, to ensure a level playing field;
• easing the obligation to renew feed additive authorisations and digitalising labelling for feed additives;
• facilitating market access for fermentation products;
• simplifying accreditation rules for official laboratories;
• applying a more pragmatic approach to border controls for plant products;
• adapting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) surveillance and risk mitigation requirements in accordance with science. 

Today’s measures respond to repeated calls from Member States and stakeholders for faster, clearer procedures in these areas and build on evaluation work carried out by the Commission. The legislative proposal will now be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council for adoption. 

Background

The Food and Feed Safety package marks the 10th omnibus proposal since the start of the mandate. The Commission has made it a priority to tackle overlapping, unnecessary or disproportionate rules, which place undue burden on EU businesses and hamper innovation and competitiveness in the EU, setting a clear target of reducing administrative burdens by least 25% – and at least 35% for small and medium-sized enterprises – before the end of this mandate, without undermining Europe’s high legislative standards.

The Food and Feed Safety package is also a key deliverable from the Vision for Agriculture and Food presented by the Commission in February 2025, and directly responds to its promise of helping farmers and food and feed businesses be more competitive and resilient.

For more information

Food and Feed Safety (Regulation)

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