The Food Safety Policy of the European Union aims
to protect human health and consumers' interests while ensuring the proper
functioning of the internal market. To achieve this goal, EU develops and enforces
control standards in the area of food hygiene and food, health and animal
welfare, phytosanitary requirements and preventing the risk of contamination from
external substances. Also it prescribes rules to ensure proper labeling of such
products. This Policy was reformed in the early 2000s namely under the motto "farm
to table". A high level of food safety and food products marketed in the
Union is thus guaranteed at all stages of the value chain (e.g. production and distribution).
This procedure applies both to food produced in and imported from third
countries.
