Following the Commission’s proposal, the Council has finally adopted a political agreement to set hygiene rules for food of animal origin. The legislation focuses on setting objectives while leaving business flexibility in deciding which safety measures to take. Mr Byrne welcomed the Council’s political agreement as a key aspect of achieving food safety while respecting the diversity of European food. Following the principle of flexibility, exemptions can be made for food produced according to traditional methods, by small business or in remote regions. But exemptions that may compromise food hygiene objectives are not allowed, and the procedures for granting exemptions must be transparent. Food business operators that import food of animal origin must ensure that such food comes from third countries that are approved for that purpose and that the dispatching establishment in the third country concerned appears on a list drawn up in accordance with EU procedures. Following the co-decision procedure, this agreement in the form of a Regulation will go to the European Parliament for a second reading during the first half of 2003.
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/02/1890
