WHO and FAO In 1963, the WHO and
FAO published the
Codex Alimentarius which serves as an guideline to food safety. However, according to Unit 04 – Communication of Health & Consumers Directorate-General of the European Commission: "The Codex, while being recommendations for voluntary application by members, Codex standards serve in many cases as a basis for national legislation. The reference made to Codex food safety standards in the World Trade Organizations' Agreement on
Sanitary and
Phytosanitary measures means that Codex has far reaching implications for resolving trade disputes. WTO members that wish to apply stricter food safety measures than those set by Codex may be required to justify these measures scientifically." So, an agreement made in 2003, signed by all member states, inclusive all EU, in the codex Stan Codex 240 – 2003 for coconut milk, sulphite containing additives like E223 and E 224 are allowed till 30 mg/kg, does NOT mean, they are allowed into the EU, see
Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed entries from Denmark: 2012.0834; 2011.1848; en 2011.168, "sulphite unauthorised in coconut milk from Thailand". Same for polysorbate E 435: see 2012.0838 from Denmark, unauthorised polysorbates in coconut milk and, 2007.AIC from France. Only for the latter the EU amended its regulations with (EU) No 583/2012 per 2 July 2012 to allow this additive, already used for decades and absolutely necessary.
Australia Food Standards Australia New Zealand requires all food businesses to implement food safety systems. These systems are designed to ensure food is safe to consume and halt the increasing incidence of food poisoning, and they include basic food safety training for at least one person in each business. Food safety training is delivered in various forms by, among other organisations, Registered Training Organisations (RTOs), after which staff are issued a nationally recognised unit of competency code on their certificate.
China Food safety is a growing concern in
Chinese agriculture. The Chinese government oversees agricultural production as well as the manufacture of
food packaging, containers, chemical additives, drug production, and business regulation. In recent years, the Chinese government attempted to consolidate food regulation with the creation of the
State Food and Drug Administration in 2003, and officials have also been under increasing public and international pressure to solve food safety problems. However, it appears that regulations are not well known by the trade. Labels used for "green" food, "organic" food and "pollution-free" food are not well recognized by traders and many are unclear about their meaning. A survey by the World Bank found that supermarket managers had difficulty in obtaining produce that met safety requirements and found that a high percentage of produce did not comply with established standards. Traditional marketing systems, whether in China or the rest of Asia, presently provide little motivation or incentive for individual farmers to make improvements to either quality or safety as their produce tends to get grouped together with standard products as it progresses through the marketing channel. Direct linkages between farmer groups and traders or ultimate buyers, such as supermarkets, can help avoid this problem. Governments need to improve the condition of many markets through upgrading management and reinvesting market fees in physical infrastructure.
Wholesale markets need to investigate the feasibility of developing separate sections to handle fruits and vegetables that meet defined safety and quality standards.
European Union The
European Commission and the
Parliament of the
European Union (EU) produce legislation in the form of
directives and
regulations, many of which are mandatory for member states and which therefore must be
incorporated into individual countries' national legislation. As a very large organisation that exists to remove barriers to trade between member states, and into which individual member states have only a proportional influence, the outcome is often seen as an excessively bureaucratic 'one size fits all' approach. However, in relation to food safety the tendency to err on the side of maximum protection for the consumer may be seen as a positive benefit. The EU parliament is informed on food safety matters by the
European Food Safety Authority. Individual member states may also have other legislation and controls in respect of food safety, provided that they do not prevent trade with other states, and can differ considerably in their internal structures and approaches to the regulatory control of food safety. From 13 December 2014, new legislation – the
EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation 1169/2011 – require food businesses to provide
allergy information on food sold unpackaged, in for example catering outlets, deli counters, bakeries and sandwich bars. A further addition to the 2014 legislation, named 'Natasha's Law', came into force in the United Kingdom in October 2021: Following the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died after eating a sandwich containing the allergen
sesame, foods pre-packed on premises for direct sale will require individual ingredients labelling – this replaces the historic requirement for outlets to provide ingredients information for these types of food upon request.
France Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail is a French governmental agency dealing with food safety.
Germany The
Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection is a Federal Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. History: Founded as Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Foresting in 1949, this name did not change until 2001. Then the name changed to Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture. At 22 November 2005, the name got changed again to its current state: Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. The reason for this last change was that all the resorts should get equal ranking which was achieved by sorting the resorts alphabetically. Vision: A balanced and healthy diet with safe food, distinct consumer rights and consumer information for various areas of life, and a strong and sustainable agriculture as well as perspectives for our rural areas are important goals of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. The
Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety is under the control of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. It exercises several duties, with which it contributes to safer food and thereby intensifies health-based consumer protection in Germany. Food can be manufactured and sold within Germany without a special permission, as long as it does not cause any damage on consumers' health and meets the general standards set by the legislation. However, manufacturers, carriers, importers and retailers are responsible for the food they pass into circulation. They are obliged to ensure and document the safety and quality of their food with the use of in-house control mechanisms.
Greece In
Greece, the Hellenic Food Authority governing body supervised by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy (
Greek: Υπουργείο Περιβάλλοντος και Ενέργειας), it is in charge of ensuring food sold is safe and fit for consumption. It controls the food business operators including agricultural producers, food processors, retailers, caterers, input material suppliers and private laboratories.
Hong Kong In
Hong Kong SAR, the
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department is in charge of ensuring food sold is safe and fit for consumption.
Hungary In
Hungary, the
National Food Chain Safety Office controls the food business operators including agricultural producers, food processors, retailers, caterers, input material suppliers and private laboratories. Its activities also cover risk assessment,
risk communication and related research.
India Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, is the regulating body related to food safety and laying down of standards of food in
India. Hence, it
regulates the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import of food articles, while also establishing strict standards to ensure
food safety.
Japan To ensure the safety of imported foods and related products, Article 27 of the Food Sanitation Act obliges importers to submit import notification. As Article 27 of the Food Sanitation Act states that "Those who wish to import food, food additives, apparatuses, or container/packages for sale or for use in business, shall notify the Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare on each occasion as prescribed by the Ministerial Ordinance," the imported foods and related products must not be used for sale without import notification.
New Zealand The
New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), or Te Pou Oranga Kai O Aotearoa is the New Zealand government body responsible for food safety. NZFSA is also the controlling authority for imports and exports of food and food-related products. The NZFSA as of 2012 is now a division of the Ministry for Primary Industries and is no longer its own organization.
Pakistan The Pure Food Ordinance 1960 consolidates and amends the law in relation to the preparation and the sale of foods. Its aim is to ensure purity of food being supplied to people in the market and, therefore, provides for preventing adulteration. Pakistan Hotels and Restaurant Act, 1976 applies to all hotels and restaurants in Pakistan and seeks to control and regulate the standard of service(s) by hotels and restaurants. In addition to other provisions, under section 22(2), the sale of food or beverages that are contaminated, not prepared hygienically or served in utensils that are not hygienic or clean is an offense.
South Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety The
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has been working for food safety since 1945. It is part of the
Government of South Korea. IOAS-Organic Certification Bodies Registered in KFDA: "Organic" or related claims can be labelled on food products when organic certificates are considered as valid by KFDA. KFDA admits organic certificates which can be issued by 1) IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement) accredited certification bodies 2) Government accredited certification bodies – 328 bodies in 29 countries have been registered in KFDA. Food Import Report: According to Food Import Report, it is supposed to report or register what you import. Competent authority is as follows:
National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation (NIFDS) is functioning as well. The National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation is a national organization for toxicological tests and research. Under the Korea Food & Drug Administration, the Institute performs research on toxicology, pharmacology, and
risk analysis of foods, drugs, and their additives. The Institute strives primarily to understand important biological triggering mechanisms and improve assessment methods of human exposure, sensitivities, and risk by (1) conducting basic, applied, and policy research that closely examines biologically triggering harmful effects on the regulated products such as foods, food additives, and drugs, and operating the national toxicology program for the toxicological test development and inspection of hazardous chemical substances assessments. The Institute ensures safety by investigation and research on safety by its own researchers, contract research by external academicians and research centers.
Taiwan In
Taiwan, the
Ministry of Health and Welfare in charge of Food and Drug Safety, also evaluate the
catering industry to maintenance the food product quality. Currently, US $29.01 million budget is allocated each year for food safety-related efforts.
Turkey In Turkey, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, is in charge of food safety and they provide their mission as "to ensure access to safe food and high-quality agricultural products needed by Turkey and world markets" among other responsibilities. The institution itself has research and reference laboratories across the country helping the control and inspection of food safety as well as reviewing and updating the current regulations and laws about food safety constantly.
United Kingdom In the UK the
Food Standards Agency is an independent government department responsible for food safety and hygiene across the England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while
Food Standards Scotland is responsible for Scotland. They work with businesses to help them produce safe food, and with local authorities to enforce food safety regulations. In 2006 food hygiene legislation changed and new requirements came into force. The main requirement resulting from this change is that anyone who owns or run a food business in the UK must have a documented Food Safety Management System, which is based on the principles of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point. Furthermore, according to UK legislation, food handlers and their supervisors must be adequately trained in food safety. Although food handlers are not legally obliged to hold a certificate they must be able to demonstrate to a health officer that they received training on the job, have prior experience, and have completed self-study. In practice, the self-study component is covered via a food hygiene and safety certificate. Common occupations which fall under this obligation are Nannys, childminders, teachers, food manufacturers, chefs, cooks and catering staff. In early 2019, as part of US-UK negotiations to arrive at a
trade deal prior to
Brexit, the
Trump administration asked the UK to eliminate its existing ban on
chlorinated chicken,
genetically modified plants and
hormone-injected beef, products that the US would like to sell in the UK.
United States The US
food system is regulated by numerous federal, state and local officials. Since 1906 tremendous progress has been made in producing safer foods as can be seen in the section below. Still, it has been criticized as lacking in "organization, regulatory tools, and not addressing food borne illness".
Federal level regulation The
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publishes the Food Code, a model set of guidelines and procedures that assists food control jurisdictions by providing a scientifically sound technical and legal basis for regulating the retail and food service industries, including restaurants,
grocery stores and institutional food service providers such as
nursing homes. Regulatory agencies at all levels of government in the United States use the FDA Food Code to develop or update food safety rules in their jurisdictions that are consistent with national food regulatory policy. According to the FDA, 48 of 56 states and
territories, representing 79% of the US population, have adopted food codes patterned after one of the five versions of the Food Code, beginning with the 1993 edition. In the United States, federal regulations governing food safety are fragmented and complicated, according to a February 2007 report from the Government Accountability Office. There are 15 agencies sharing oversight responsibilities in the food safety system, although the two primary agencies are the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which is responsible for the safety of meat, poultry, and processed egg products, and the FDA, which is responsible for virtually all other foods. The Food Safety and Inspection Service has approximately 7,800 inspection program personnel working in nearly 6,200 federally inspected meat, poultry and processed egg establishments. FSIS is charged with administering and enforcing the Federal
Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the Egg Products Inspection Act, portions of the
Agricultural Marketing Act, the
Humane Slaughter Act, and the regulations that implement these laws. FSIS inspection program personnel inspect every animal before slaughter, and each carcass after slaughter to ensure public health requirements are met. In fiscal year (FY) 2008, this included about 50 billion pounds of livestock carcasses, about 59 billion pounds of poultry carcasses, and about 4.3 billion pounds of processed egg products. At US borders, they also inspected 3.3 billion pounds of imported meat and poultry products.
US legislation history Recognition of food safety issues and attempts to address them began after
Upton Sinclair published the novel
The Jungle in 1906. It was a fictional account of the lives of immigrants in the industrial cities in the US around this time. Sinclair spent nine months undercover as an employee in a Chicago meat plant doing research. The book inadvertently raised public concern about food safety and sanitization of the
Chicago meat packing industry. Upon reading
The Jungle, President
Theodore Roosevelt called on Congress to pass the
Pure Food and Drug Act and the
Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), which passed in 1906 and 1907 respectively. These laws were the first to address food safety in the US, misbranding and
adulteration were defined as they concerned
food additives and
truth in labeling.
Food preservatives such as
formaldehyde and
borax used to disguise unsanitary production processes were also addressed. The first test and major court battle involving the
Pure Food and Drug Act was
United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola, an attempt to outlaw
Coca-Cola due to its excessive
caffeine content. The
Meat Inspection Act led to the formation of the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Between 1906 and 1938, acts were created that monitored food coloration additives, and other chemical additives such as
preservatives, as well as
food labeling and
food marketing. During the winter of 1924–1925, the worst food-borne illness to date in the US occurred because of improper handling of oysters. This produced a
typhoid fever epidemic, and food-borne illness outbreaks gained national attention. Unfortunately, it was not until 1969 that the FDA began sanitization programs specifically for
shellfish and
milk, and began its focus and implementation on the food service industry as a whole. In 1970 the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began keeping records on food-borne illness deaths. This was the beginning of effective record keeping that could be used to control and prevent similar outbreaks in the future. The first major food recall in the US was caused by canned mushrooms in 1973. This outbreak of
botulism produced the National Botulism Surveillance System. This system collected the data on all confirmed cases of botulism in the US This led to processing regulations for low-acid foods to ensure proper heat treating of canned foods. The Jack in the Box
E. coli outbreak of 1993 led the Clinton administration to put $43 million into the
Food Safety Initiative to create many of the common specific regulations in place today. This initiative produced regulations on seafood, meat, poultry, and shell-eggs. This initiative produced a program for DNA fingerprinting to help track outbreaks and to determine their source. It also called for a cooperative detection and response effort between the CDC, FDA, USDA and local agencies called FoodNet. In 2011 the
Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) produced what is considered the most significant food safety legislation in over 70 years. The significant difference between this and previous acts was that it shifted to focus from response and containment of food-borne disease outbreaks to their prevention. This act is still in the early implementation phase but gives the FDA authority to regulate the way foods are grown, processed, and harvested. Under Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) guidelines, meat and poultry manufacturers are required to have an HACCP plan in accordance with 9 CFR part 417, juice manufacturers are required to have an HACCP plan in accordance with 21 CFR part 120, A growing number of food and beverage manufacturers are improving food safety standards by incorporating a food safety management system which automates all steps in the food quality management process.
State and local regulation A number of US
states have their own meat inspection programs that substitute for USDA inspection for meats that are sold only in-state. Certain state programs have been criticized for undue leniency to bad practices. Contrastingly, there are some state-level programs that supplement Federal inspections rather than replacing them. These programs generally operate with the goal of increasing consumer confidence in their state's produce, play a role in investigating outbreaks of food-borne disease bacteria such as in the 2006 outbreak of pathogenic
Escherichia coli O157:H7 and in promoting better food processing practices to eliminate food-borne threats. Additionally, several states which are major producers of fresh fruits and vegetables (including California,
Arizona and Florida) have their own state programs to test produce for
pesticide residues. The food system represents one of the most significant components of the U.S. economy. It affects the social and economic well-being of nearly all Americans and plays a significant role in the well-being of the global community. The U.S. food and fiber system accounted for 18 percent of employment 4 percent of imported goods, and 11 percent of exports in 2011. The relative economic contribution of each various step of the U.S. food supply chain has changed significantly over the past 100 years. Generally speaking, the economic importance of the farm production subsector has steadily diminished relative to the shares of the other components of the food supply chain. Restaurants and other retail food establishments fall under state law and are regulated by state or local health departments. Typically these regulations require official inspections of specific design features, best food-handling practices, and certification of food handlers. In some places a letter grade or numerical score must be prominently posted following each inspection. In some localities, inspection deficiencies and remedial action are posted on the Internet. In addition, states may maintain and enforce their own model of the FDA Food Code. For example, California maintains the California Retail Food Code (CalCode), which is part of the Health and Safety Code and is based on most current and safe food handling practices in the retail industry. It has been argued that restaurant hygiene ratings, though useful at times, are not informative enough for consumers.
Vietnam The Vietnam Food Administration manages food hygiene, safety, and quality and has made significant progress since its establishment in 1999. Food safety remains a high priority in Vietnam with the growth of export markets and increasing food imports raising the need to rapidly build capacity of the Food Administration to reduce threats of foodborne disease. The Food Administration has demonstrated commitment to the food safety challenges it faces, and has embarked on an innovative capacity building activity with technical assistance from the WHO. ==Consumer labeling==