To all appearances, Europe is at present undergoing a crisis of consumer
confidence with respect to the food industry. Recent food scares, the
genetically-modified food controversy, a growing public awareness of the
environmental footprint of intensive farming methods, and a perceived threat
to the deeply-held European cultural values surrounding diet and cuisine all
have combined to expose the vulnerability of consumers in the very ordinary
activity of purchasing food. Although the creation of the European Food Safety
Authority (EFSA) in February 2002 can be viewed as an EU response to this
crisis, it in fact represents an inevitable milestone in a body of
food-specific European legislation and case law that has been growing for many
years.
The EFSA does, however, clearly establish food law as an autonomous branch of
EU law. This is the first book to survey and analyse this body of law in
depth, drawing together the relevant laws and cases and taking stock of the
trends and likely future developments in this dynamic and emotive area of law
and policy.
elucidates the scope of European food law by investigating several avenues and facets of the subject, including the following:
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its underpinnings in Article 3 of the EC Treaty, on the free movement of goods;
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the principle of mutual recognition among Member States;
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case law developments concerning composition of foodstuffs, labelling, sales
promotion, advertising, and other aspects of food production and distribution;
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aims and policies of the January 2000 White Paper on Food Safety issued by the
European Commission;
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appropriate hygiene standards; and
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authorisation and labelling of GMOs.
Because food is such a central and essential element in society, food law has
far-reaching economic, social, and environmental consequences. And because
Europe's new food safety regime is intended, by an extraordinary unanimity of
Member States and major political groups, to be the most up-to-date and
effective in the world, a broad range of legal practitioners and scholars,
social scientists, and policymakers will greatly appreciate this thoroughgoing
and insightful analysis.
