ABSTRACT
Food safety legislation 276 Food hygiene legislation 282 Official food controls 293
Communicable disease legislation 297 Summary 299 Sources of information and further reading 300
Food hygiene and food safety legislation cannot be viewed in an exclusively national context – it is a worldwide issue. The European Commission (EC) has been involved in food legislation since 1964. The central goal of the EC is the achievement of the highest possible level of health protection for the consumers of Europe’s food. The Commission also ensures that all EC laws are compatible with the international obligations of the European Union (EU) under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary and Technical Barriers to Trade Agreements. The production, processing, distribution, retail, packaging and labelling of food stuffs are governed by a mass of laws, regulations, codes of practice and guidance.
