ABSTRACT
The ‘precautionary principle’ is quoted (but not defined) in the English version of the EC Treaty. According to Art 174 para 2 sentence 2, which has been introduced by the Single European Act of 1986,1 the Community policy on the environment shall be based on the precautionary principle and on the principle that preventive action should be taken.2 In general, the precautionary principle was initially developed in environmental law, on the national, especially German, basis as well as in European Community law and in international law.3 Since the presentation of the Green Paper on ‘The General Principles of Food Law in the European Union’4 in 1997 and especially since the Bovine Spongiforme Encephalopathy (BSE) crisis, the ‘precautionary principle’ has often been cited in EC food law affairs.5
