Modus operandi harmonises procedures on chemical contamination

The Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General of the European Commission published the modus operandi​ yesterday as a means of ensuring member states, processors and importers follow the EU's harmonised procedures for testing and recalling food products across the bloc. The guide is part of the Commission's push to bring all EU members up to the same food safety standards.

The modus operandi​ would apply in situations when a member state deals with a food safety incident and subsequently identifies other products in the supply chain that also contain the chemical in question.

The document covers the management of food safety incidents potentially involving a chemical substance and presenting a potential risk to public health. The incident could result from an accident, a lack of precaution or a fraud. The modus operandi​ does not apply to incidents involving a chemical substance for which explicit provisions exist, such as those relating to maximum allowed limits.

"The objective is to avoid, if possible, the escalation on an incident into a crisis,"​ the Commission stated.

Once a food safety incident involving a chemical is found, a member state is bound to send information to other EU countries through the Commission's rapid alert information network. The notification should be accompanied or followed as soon as possible by any information available, such as toxicological data or the possible extent of the problem.

Information should also be submitted on the testing and sampling methods used, so that other members can perform their own investigations.

Once notified, evaluation involving regulators of the member state, if necessary the Commission and possibly the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

The member state will remain responsible for investigating the origin of the breakdown in food safety in order to clean up the supply chain. The Commission will then take any specific binding measures, if required, under the bloc's General Food Law.

The Commission, member states and the food business involved will then take risk management measures as needed to prevent the incident from growing into a larger problem. They will be responsible for carrying out checks at their plants. They will also be responsible for monitoring the market to ensure products do not remain for sale.

Withdrawal of the relevant batches of product may be voluntary or mandatory. Traceability must be strictly implemented all along the food to speed up the withdrawal of products from the market, the Commission stated.

Manufacturers must also let regulators know about any changes in processing carried out on food containing the chemical substance. Binding measures may be imposed on EU markets or on affected imports.

Exporters to the EU will be responsible for an analytical report attesting to the absence of undue substances. The EU may also require additional guarantees, such as an analysis report by the competent authorities before a food product is exported to the bloc.

Special import conditions, including bans, may also be placed on where products may enter the EU market.

The Commission says the document may be amended as needed in the future.

" It should be considered as a dynamic document aiming at a common approach for the management of such incidents,"​ the document states. " It may be modified on the basis of future experience."​

Chemical substances play an important role in food production and distribution. As food additives, they prolong for example the shelf life of foods, and, as colours and flavourings, they may make foods more attractive. Other chemicals are pharmacologically active and may be used to fight diseases in farm animals and on crops.

To keep food hygienic and attractive it needs to be kept in containers that are made of chemical substances such as plastics. Chemical substances are also present in the environment as pollutants. These contaminants are unintentionally present in raw materials used in food production and distribution and can often not be avoided.

Community food legislation aims at the establishment of the right balance between risks and benefits of substances that are used intentionally and at the reduction of contaminants in accordance with the high level of consumer protection that is required in Article 152 of the treaty establishing the EU, the Commission stated.

The bloc's legislation on food additives is based on the principle that only ingredients that are explicitly authorised may be used. The existing legislation on flavourings sets limits on the presence of undesirable compounds. Chemically defined flavouring substances have to be put through a safety evaluation programme.

Only substances for which the outcome of the evaluation is favourable will be authorised for use in foodstuffs by means of a future positive list.

The legislation on contaminants follows the principle that contaminant levels shall be kept as low as can be reasonably achieved following good working practices. Maximum levels have been set for certain contaminants such as mycotoxins, dioxins, heavy metals, nitrates and chloropropanols.

The legislation on food contact materials requires that these shall not transfer their components into food in quantities that could endanger human health or change the composition, the taste or the texture of food.