To present these new rules and celebrate 40 years of RASFF, the Commission organized and hosted, with the support of the Finnish Presidency, this milestone conference “Smarter rules for safer food and plant health” on 13 December 2019 with FarmTech Society, EU Transparency Register #469686733585-87 in attendance and engaged with policymakers and stakeholders.
This highly anticipated new regulation is completely overhauled and will impact all sectors in the industry, as for perishable foods such as produce, FTS will compile a detailed report on the impacts for its industry members. In particular, we will focus on e-commerce and the new production systems such as daylight independent production methods as well as all products that are grown in controlled environment agriculture.
The new Official Controls Regulation (OCR), which brings together disperse rules into a single Regulation, will offer more targeted, risk-based controls along the agri-food chain.
With its broader scope and new IT-based tools, it provides for a modernised, integrated and efficient system to intercept risks related to public health, plant health, animal health and welfare. The aim is clearly to harmonize the industry into a single market! As the EU has been a global leader in food safety standards, it is anticipated that other major markets will adopt these standards.
With a few exceptions, the new Regulation (and a significant number of Delegated and Implementing acts) has become applicable on 14 December 2019. On the same date, the new Regulation on protective measures against pests of plants has also become applicable.
These acts represent major elements of the overall legal framework contributing to the protection of public, animal and plant health in the EU. The new legislation will also make enforcement more efficient by the introduction of a new computerised system (IMSOC), which integrates existing systems, including the RASFF system which this year celebrates 40 years of existence.
The conference was also an excellent occasion to network, share best practices, field direct questions, increase the level of awareness and preparedness among EU countries, interested parties, and trading partners. FarmTech Society is increasingly being recognized representing the interest of the indoor growing industry!
Speakers include members of the European Commission and the Finnish Presidency, government experts, relevant stakeholders, and scientists, to mention were relevant and eloquent contributions by
Ana Canals, AESAN (Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition), Spain
Rosalinda Scalia, Plant health, DG SANTE
Camille Perrin, BEUC (European Consumer Organisation)
Bernard van Goethem, Director of Crisis management in food, animals, and plants – DG SANTE
With some highly interesting contribution from
Dr. Ritu Nalubola, Director of the European Office of the Food and Drug Administration, USA and
Dr Thomas Jemmi, Deputy Director-General, FSVO (Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office), Switzerland
