Commission launches task force to strengthen import controls on food safety

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The European Commission today established a Task Force to maintain and reinforce the EU’s ability to ensure imports meet Union standards, while supporting the jobs and growth of EU producers.

The Task Force will focus in particular on food and feed safety, pesticide residues and coordinated EU monitoring actions on specific imported products. It brings together expertise from the Commission and Member States, and will contribute to:

• Further harmonising of import controls across the EU;
• Developing recommendations for joint actions between the Commission and Member States;
• Identifying where additional administrative or regulatory measures are needed to strengthen controls.

The central goal of the European Commission’s Food Safety policy is to ensure the highest levels of protection for human, animal and plant health by guaranteeing safe, nutritious food for EU consumers, as well as the highest standards for animal feed.

Strict import rules with respect to food and feed hygiene, consumer safety and animal and plant health status aim at assuring that all imports fulfil the same high standards as products from the EU itself. Import controls are crucial in verifying compliance of food and feed products with relevant requirements. EU rules apply to all products sold in the EU, whether produced domestically or imported.

Background

The formal launch of the Task Force happened in the margins of today’s Council, and builds on the Implementation Dialogue on import controls held last December, when the Commission announced a reinforcement of its actions in this area.

The EU has robust food and feed safety legislation that ensures food and feed that is imported from third countries is safe for our citizens. National authorities are responsible for carrying out the checks on imports that arrive from third countries to assess their compliance with EU food and feed safety rules.The Commission performs audits on the third countries to assess the countries’ systems and their reliability, while also working closely with the veterinary and customs authorities in the Member States.

For more information

Official controls and enforcement (Food Safety)

Questions and answers: Import controls of food and feed