Food authority gets green light

Date: 24/01/02

EU FARM ministers have given the go-ahead for the creation of a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to boost consumer confidence in the wake of scares over mad cow disease and dioxin contamination.

David Byrne, the health and consumer affairs commissioner, said the new safety rules and the launch of the agency marked 'a great day of achievement for food safety in the EU'. He said the Commission would begin work straight away to recruit the EFSA's management board and director.

The new safety regulation sets out principles for future EU food legislation, including the responsibility of food and animal-feed makers for the safety of their products.

The EFSA will be temporarily located in Brussels, after December's Laeken Summit of EU leaders failed to choose between rival bids from Finland, Italy, Spain and France to host the authority.

EU farm ministers have given the go-ahead for the creation of a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to boost consumer confidence in the wake of scares over mad cow disease and dioxin contamination.