Food Law : European, Domestic and International Frameworks

This is the first comprehensive analysis of the European Union law of food regulation. It details the way in which EU law impacts upon the production and sale of food throughout the Union. It examines the legal protection accorded to the free movement of food within the EU, discussing those circumstances in which Member States may derogate from this principle, in particular where this is done to protect human health or safeguard consumer interests. Chapter four discusses and places in context the international trade law influences on EU food law. Chapter five describes EU responses to recent food safety crises - avian influenza and BSE. The book also deals with issues such as nutrition law and policy, obesity, GMOs, organic food, animal welfare and food naming and labelling. This book offers an account of the historical, political, sociological and jurisprudential context of European Union food law. The author, who is an academic and consultant in this area, translates the legal and scientific complexities of food law into a lucid and compelling narrative. The resulting work will also prove an indispensable guide to the practitioner. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Table of Cases Table of Legislation 1 History and Development of Food Law 1.1 Introduction 1.2 History of Food Laws 1.2.1 Aspects of Early Food Law 1.2.2 Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1875 1.2.3 Food and Drugs Act 1955 1.2.4 Food Act 1984 1.3 European Integration 1.3.1 Supremacy of European Union Food Law Significance of 'Metric Martyrs' 1.3.2 Free Movement and Food Law 1.4 Conclusion 2 Domestic, European Union and International Food Law 2.1 Introduction 2.2 TFEU Obligations 2.2.1 Role of the Commission. Directorate-General for Health and ConsumersCreating Ordinary Legislation Comitology Advisory Group on the Food Chain Enforcement Actions 2.2.2 European Union Courts and English Food Law Preliminary References Reviewing the Legality of EU Acts 2.3 International Obligations 2.3.1 World Trade Organization Agreements Effect of World Trade Organization Rules on English Law Agriculture Technical Barriers to Trade Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Intellectual Property Protection General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 2.3.2 Codex Alimentarius Commission. 2.3.3 Other International OrganisationsUnited Nations Agencies: World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization World Intellectual Property Organization National Non-Governmental Organisations 3 Key Actors in Food Law 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Government Departments 3.2.1 Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 3.2.2 Department of Health 3.2.3 Department of Energy and Climate Change 3.3 Enforcing Food Law 3.3.1 National Competent Authorities 3.3.2 Official Feed and Food Controls Regulations 3.4 State Agencies 3.4.1 Food Standards Agency. Functions of the Food Standards Agency3.4.2 Health Protection Agency and Public Health England 3.4.3 Environment Agency 3.4.4 Intellectual Property Office 3.5 Conclusion 4 EU Rules on the Free Movement of Food 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Measures Equivalent to Quantitative Restrictions on Trade in Food 4.2.1 Restricting the Free Movement of Food 4.2.2 Compositional Requirements and the Principle of Mutual Recognition 4.2.3 Packaging as an Impediment to the Free Movement of Food 4.2.4 Determining 'Substantial Difference' when Considering Consumer Protection 4.2.5 Protecting Human Health. 4.2.6 National Rules on Additive Use4.3 Measures Equivalent to Customs Duties on Imported Food 4.3.1 Unlawful Charges and Exceptions to the Rule 4.4 Discriminatory Taxation on Food and Drink 4.4.1 Distinguishing Between Customs Duties and Taxes 4.5 Conclusion 5 Food Safety 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Food Safety Act 1990 5.2.1 Offences under the Food Safety Act 5.2.2 Investigating Breaches of the Food Safety Act 5.3 BSE Crisis 5.3.1 Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Order 1988 5.3.2 EU Response to the BSE Crisis 5.3.3 Domestic Response to the BSE Crisis. This book provides a broad conspectus on the application of EU and international regulation of the food sector on English law. It is aimed at practitioners and students of this vital and emerging branch of law, which has become an important part of current political and legal debate. It is written not just for lawyers as a statement of current law, but is also aimed at all those involved or interested in the food industry who wish to familiarise themselves with how the law is applied practically in this jurisdiction. The book commences with a short conceptual framework for the study of food law. It then provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of current English law, explaining fully the detailed processes by which both international and national law and EU decision making have impacted upon most aspects of the production, sale and consumption of food in England. The book explains and assesses the operation of the current law by describing in detail the roles of Government, the Food Standards Agency and local enforcement authorities in the making and enforcing of laws concerning food. The work contains full outlines of the developments in the most significant areas of food law. It concentrates specifically on topics such as food labelling and advertising, quality and compositional requirements, geographical food names, genetic modification, organic production, animal welfare and also the role of law in tackling poor health, obesity, and diet-related disease. The book, though primarily designed as a law text, goes beyond the usual confines of such works. It sets out to explain and describe the impact of successive food crises, such as BSE and the use of horsemeat in beef products, on food safety and transparency requirements. The book considers and assesses how the existing rules on the chemical and biological safety of food impact on our law, and concludes with a review of the developing legal issues concerning the environmental impacts of current and proposed food law, in particular the relationship between food law, climate change and food security. The Government recognises that many lifestyle-driven health problems are at alarming levels: obesity; high rates of sexually transmitted infections; a relatively large population of drug users; rising levels of harm from alcohol; 80,000 deaths a year from smoking; poor mental health; health inequalities between rich and poor. This white paper outlines the Government's proposals to protect the population from serious health threats; help people live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives; and improve the health of the poorest. It aims to empower individuals to make healthy choices and give communities and local government the freedom, responsibility and funding to innovate and develop ways of improving public health in their area. The paper responds to Sir Michael Marmot's strategic review of health inequalities in England post 2010 - "Fair society, healthy lives" (available at http://www.marmotreview.org/AssetLibrary/pdfs/Reports/FairSocietyHealthyLives.pdf) and adopts its life course framework for tackling the wider social determinants of health. A new dedicated public health service - Public Health England - will be created to ensure excellence, expertise and responsiveness, particularly on health protection where a national response is vital. The paper gives a timetable showing how the proposals will be implemented and an annex sets out a vision of the role of the Director of Public Health. The Department is also publishing a fuller story on the health of England in "Our health and wellbeing today" (http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/documents/digitalasset/dh_122238.pdf), detailing the challenges and opportunities, and in 2011 will issue documents on major public health issues. This book provides a broad conspectus on the application of EU and international regulation of the food sector on English law. It is aimed at practitioners and students of this vital and emerging branch of law, and also all those involved or interested in the food industry who wish to familiarise themselves with how the law is applied in practice. The book commences with a short conceptual framework for the study of food law. It then provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of current English law, explaining how both international and national law and EU decision-making have impacted upon the production, sale and consumption of food in England. It describes in detail the roles of government, the Food Standards Agency and local enforcement authorities. The book contains full outlines of the developments in the most significant areas of food law. It concentrates specifically on topics such as food labelling and advertising, quality and compositional requirements, geographical food names, genetic modification, organic production, animal welfare and also the role of law in tackling poor health and obesity. The book sets out to explain and describe the impact of successive food crises on food safety and transparency requirements. It considers how the existing rules on the chemical and biological safety of food impact on our law and concludes with a review of the developing legal issues concerning the environmental impacts of current and proposed food law.-- Provided by publisher First published in 1984, and now in its 6th edition, this book has become the classic text on food chemistry around the world. The bulk components - carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals and water, and the trace components - colours, flavours, vitamins and preservatives, as well as food-borne toxins, allergens, pesticide residues and other undesirables all receive detailed consideration. Besides being extensively rewritten and updated a new chapter on enzymes has been included. At every stage attention is drawn to the links between the chemical components of food and their health and nutritional significance. Features include: "Special Topics" section at the end of each chapter for specialist readers and advanced students; an exhaustive index and the structural formulae of over 500 food components; comprehensive listings of recent, relevant review articles and recommended books for further reading; frequent references to wider issues eg the evolutionary significance of lactose intolerance, fava bean consumption in relation to malaria and the legislative status of food additives around the world. Food: The Chemistry of its Components will be of particular interest to students and teachers of food science, nutrition and applied chemistry in universities, colleges and schools. Its accessible style ensures that it will be invaluable to anyone with an interest in food issues. -- Publisher description History and development of food law Domestic, European Union and international food law Key actors in food law EU rules on the free movement of food Food safety Chemical and biological safety of food Food labelling and advertising Protected food names Nutrition, obesity and health Ethical and environmental aspects of food law. Approval Organizations, Organizations, Testing Organizations, Certification (approval), Products, Specification (approval), Quality Assurance, Quality Assurance Systems, Documents, Quality, Handbooks, Records (documents), Personnel, Consumer-supplier Relations, Trading Standards, Tss This White Paper sets out the Government's long-term vision for the future of public health in England. The aim is to create a 'wellness' service (Public Health England) and to strengthen both national and local leadership