The roots of International Food Safety Law

Gerry Skews - Arbite Consulting

Most food safety systems generally refer to a single source of information and reference and while many national systems have "variances" and "interpretations" legal flow mostly comes from the fountain of knowledge which is an organisation called the Codex Alimentarius. (Food Code)

The Codex is managed by the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) as part of the United Nations, Codex has 188 nation members and 1 Member Organisation (EU) who contribute to and from the Codex.

The single fact that supports the efficacy and integrity of the Codex is that it is evidenced based. That means the underlying principles are based in science not politics. Supporting reasons why this organisation is the most important reference in the world on food safety is the sheer extent of the data held, the establishment and management of international standards and definitions, the support of scientific research and the quality of the information published. More recently the codex has enhanced its relationship with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to promote international trading of food under safer regulations and practices and the World Health Organisation (WHO) with respect too food safety. More information on Codex can be found at https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/home/tr/

Food Safety Law in Europe & the UK

Prior to the exit of the UK from the EU on the 31st January 2020 the laws that governed the production and safety of UK food were implemented and managed by the European Union.

For reference the regulation is as follows:

REGULATION (EC) No 178/2002 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 28 January2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food SafetyAuthorityand laying down procedures in matters of food safety

The latest document in English covering the European Regulation can be found https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:02002R0178-20220701&from=EN

The UK is among the leading countries in the world engaged in scientific research into food safety, food sciences, and human health. World class institutes, agencies and organisations such as Quadram (Formally Food Research Institute) https://quadram.ac.uk/ continue as pre-eminant centers of excellence and feed the UK regulatory and compliance furnace with important fuel.

In the UK the law is now more devolved, accordingly we shall focus on the law as it relates to England, Wales & Scotland. It is perfectly well summarised on the Food Standards Agency website as detailed below.

England and Wales and Scotland

The Food Safety Act 1990 (as amended) provides the framework for all food legislation in the England, Wales and Scotland. The main responsibilities for all food businesses covered by the Act are to ensure that:

• businesses do not include anything in food, remove anything from food or treat food in any way which means it would be damaging to the health of people eating it

• the food businesses serve or sell is of the nature, substance or quality which consumers would expect

• the food is labelled, advertised and presented in a way that is not false or misleading

The Foods Standards Agency

The FSA is the regulatory authority charged with implementation and management of food safety in the UK. It is an agency established by Act of Parliament Food Standards Act 1999 and has far reaching and wide ranging powers including those of arrest and prosecution. There are several advantages with understanding what the FSA do and using the information they produce, there is direct advice and guidance on specific business sectors, the Alerts and Notifications they produce are extremely useful as a guide to governance and due care and the most important thing is that you can trust the information that is published by them.

A closer look at UK Regulations

The biggest problem in setting up and managing a food business in the UK (other than the financial wisdom of such a move) is the sheer volume of legislation that exists to protect the public. It really is not reasonable or practical to know chapter & verse on every aspect of the law. As previously mentioned, The Food Safety Act 1990 sets out the fundamental framework of the legal requirements and it is this law that is most likely quoted if things go wrong. There are however a few simple rules to follow that will demonstrate compliance and dilligence. Our goal in producing food for sale in the UK is completely different from that of producing it in our own kitchen for our friends and family. Poison the family you might, but if you sell a curry that gives a customer a deii belly you could find yourself in serious trouble. The biggest complaint heard amongst food vendors is that the regulations are far too onerous, the problem is that the regulations have to be set so that the most negligent can be caught and stopped. (Fix the weakest link)

A good source of data relating to food safety in the UK can be found on the governments' own web site https://www.gov.uk/food-safety-your-responsibilities This gives clear guidelines on Food Safety & Allergens, Hygiene, Inspections and Reporting. It doesnt matter who or what you are, if you are involved in providing food to customers in the UK you have a duty of responsibility to make sure what you sell to people is safe.

Ignorance is no excuse, an open mind and awareness of food safety basics and an appreciation of the regulations that apply is all you need to operate a safe food business. The more complex the food process the more dilligent you need to be.

As mentioned The Food Safety Act is the final arbiter of the Law in the UK. It is a pretty weighty document the Whole act of Parliament appears via hyperlinks below.

1. Part I PRELIMINARY
   

   1. 1. Meaning of “food” and other basic expressions.

   2. 2. Extended meaning of “sale” etc.

   3. 3. Presumptions that food intended for human consumption.

   4. 4. Ministers having functions under Act.

   5. 5. Food authorities and authorised officers.

   6. 6. Enforcement of Act.

1. Collapse -Part II MAIN PROVISIONS
   

   1. Food safety
      

      1. 7. Rendering food injurious to health.

      2. 8. Selling food not complying with food safety requirements.

      3. 9. Inspection and seizure of suspected food.

      4. 10. Improvement notices.

      5. 11. Prohibition orders.

      6. 12. Emergency prohibition notices and orders.

      7. 13. Emergency control orders.

1. Consumer protection
   

   1. 14. Selling food not of the nature or substance or quality demanded.

   2. 15. Falsely describing or presenting food.

1. Food information
   

   1. 15A.Meaning of “food information” etc.

   2. 15B.Contravention of food information law: seizure of food etc.

   3. 15C.Duty to report non-compliance with food information law

   4. 15D.Power to obtain information

1. Regulations
   

   1. 16. Food safety and consumer protection.

   2. 17. Enforcement of EU provisions.

   3. 18. Special provisions for particular foods etc.

   4. 19. Registration and licensing of food premises.

1. Defences etc.
   

   1. 20. Offences due to fault of another person.

   2. 21. Defence of due diligence.

   3. 22. Defence of publication in the course of business.

1. Miscellaneous and supplemental
   

   1. 23. Provision of food hygiene training.

   2. 24. Provision of facilities for cleansing shellfish.

   3. 25. Orders for facilitating the exercise of functions.

   4. 26. Regulations and orders: supplementary provisions.

1. Collapse -Part III ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT
   

   1. Administration
      

      1. 27. Appointment of public analysts.

      2. 28. Provision of facilities for examinations.

1. Sampling and analysis etc.
   

   1. 29. Procurement of samples.

   2. 30. Analysis etc. of samples.

   3. 31. Regulation of sampling and analysis etc.

1. Powers of entry and obstruction etc.
   

   1. 32. Powers of entry.

   2. 33. Obstruction etc. of officers.

1. Offences
   

   1. 34. Time limit for prosecutions.

   2. 35. Punishment of offences.

   3. 36. Offences by bodies corporate.

   4. 36A.Offences by Scottish partnerships.

1. Appeals
   

   1. 37. Appeals to magistrates’ court or sheriff.

   2. 38. Appeals to Crown Court.

   3. 39. Appeals against improvement notices.

1. Collapse -Part IV MISCELLANEOUS AND SUPPLEMENTAL
   

   1. Powers of Ministers
      

      1. 40. Power to issue codes of practice.

      2. 41. Power to require returns.

      3. 42. Default powers.

1. Protective provisions
   

   1. 43. Continuance of registration or licence on death.

   2. 44. Protection of officers acting in good faith.

1. Financial provisions
   

   1. 45. Regulations as to charges.

   2. 46. Expenses of authorised officers and county councils.

   3. 47. Remuneration of tribunal chairmen.

1. Instruments and documents
   

   1. 48. Regulations and orders.

   2. 49. Form and authentication of documents.

   3. 50. Service of documents.

1. Amendments of other Acts
   

   1. 51. Contamination of food: emergency orders.

   2. 52. Markets, sugar beet and cold storage.

1. Supplemental
   

   1. 53. General interpretation.

   2. 54. Application to Crown.

   3. 55. Water supply: England and Wales.

   4. 56. Water supply: Scotland.

   5. 57. Scilly Isles and Channel Islands.

   6. 58. Territorial waters and the continental shelf.

   7. 59. Amendments, transitional provisions, savings and repeals.

   8. 60. Short title, commencement and extent.