European rapid alert system for food and feed

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The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed ( Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed , RASFF ) is a rapid alert system of the European Commission . It is built on the food legislation.

The national coordination offices (in Germany the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety ) document warnings about suspicious foods as well as officially ordered product recalls of food and feed / compound feed and forward them to the other member states of the European Union . The public may be informed via the coordination offices there. When the documentation appears, all the necessary steps have already been initiated, according to the commission. The integration of food and feed is due to the fact that a number of food scandals originated in the feed sector.

The trend of food warnings is increasing. In 2009 an increase of 12% compared to 2008 was recorded. In 2010, the number of reports increased for the third year in a row, a total of 8528 reports were received. The most common hazards in information messages included pathogenic microorganisms, pesticide residues, heavy metals, and food additive violations. Around half of these information notifications (52 percent) concerned products from third countries.

A weekly report of the rapid alert system for food and feed of the European Commission is prepared and made publicly available on the internet at national level by the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL). The reports state the type and origin of the affected product, the reason for the warning and the reporting Member State. The names of the companies concerned are not disclosed. This is to maintain a balance between informing the public and protecting important commercial interests.

Individual evidence

  1. European Parliament of January 28, 2002: General Food Law Regulation ( Memento of February 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  2. EU Commission: Report 2009 (PDF; 1.5 MB)
  3. Press release EU Commission: Record reports for the EU rapid alert system for food

Web links