European regulation

European regulation: a common base to ensure product quality and control risks.

European regulations (known as the "hygiene package") published in 2004 constitute a common reference base that all operators respect, from dairy farmers to production plants. Inspection services apply these regulations (regulations 882/2004 and 854/2004).

For dairy farmers: European legislation sets the conditions to be met for the nutritional and sanitary quality of milk, the health of herds, and the general hygiene of farms.

For processing plants: it defines the conditions of manufacturing, packaging, storing, and transporting milk and consumer dairy products.

The respect for European regulatory requirements means that production plants must be authorized in order to market their production. This authorization must be demonstrated by an identification mark on the products. Plants are regularly inspected, and the State services can suspend or withdraw this authorization if they do not meet regulatory standards.

 

The identification mark is made up of:

• the name of the country in which the establishment is located, which can be spelled out in full or in a two-letter code: FR for France;
• of a plant authorization number;
• the abbreviation CE;

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The identification mark and the batch number present on each product are the starting point for traceability. Thanks to this information, it is possible to go through the production chain, via all the steps in producing the product all the way back to its origin: the plant that produced it, the exact day of production, the nature and the source of raw materials, all the indicators that allow authorities a precise identification of the cause of any problem, and to take all steps necessary to ensure that it is not reproduced.

The identification mark and the mandatory inspections supervised by the FVO (European Food and Veterinary Office), which allows free circulation of products with the confidence of other member States.

 

L’OAV a pour mission, au travers de ses évaluations :

• promote effective control systems in the food safety and quality, veterinary and plant health sectors;
• check on compliance with the requirements of EU food safety and quality, veterinary and plant health legislation within the European Union and in third countries exporting to the EU.

(source : http://ec.europa.eu/food/fvo/what_en.htm).

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Companies are obliged to declare any health problem to the national veterinary services, and if need be, recall products from the market.

The national alert network and the EU alert network ensure health monitoring and mobilization in case of demonstrated or potential dangers.

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