Guidance on the application of articles 11,12,16,17,18,19 and 20 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002

Taking an informal approach, the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection, within the working group, made up of experts from the Member States, studies questions relative to the application and interpretation of this Regulation with special attention given to traceability. The result of these debates is listed in a document of guidelines published on the DG SANCO web page.

Obligations of food business operators

The food business operator is best placed to devise a safe system for supplying food and ensuring that the food it supplies is safe and, therefore, has the primary legal responsibility for ensuring food safety.

The principal objective of the general and specific hygiene rules is to ensure a high level of consumer protection in relation to food safety.

Consequently, when drawing up these regulations, an integrated approach has been considered which guarantees food safety from the place of primary production up to and including placing on the market or export.

This principle has been included in the food safety and hygiene rules, which also establishes a series of obligations for food business operators