The decision aims to ensure that these goods from third countries meet the high EU standards and to ensure the competitiveness of European producers of similar products.
The activities of the working group on biosafety of feed and food products will focus on three key areas, feedlot.ru writes:
– Ensuring the safety and transparency of supply chains from non-EU countries;
– monitoring compliance with permissible levels of pesticide residues and other chemicals in plant components of feed;
– coordination and harmonization of inspections of the above-mentioned category of cargoes at the EU borders in order to exclude products that do not comply with EU regulations from entering the European market.
How will the new control mechanism work?
The new working group will bring together experts from the European Commission and representatives of EU member states. In addition to directly strengthening inspections, the structure will deal with:
– Developing recommendations for joint action by member states;
– identifying legislative gaps and preparing new administrative measures to strengthen oversight.
The group was officially launched in the framework of the Council of Ministers of Agriculture. The move was a response to requests from the European farming community and feed producers calling for the protection of the domestic market from substandard imports and the creation of fair competition conditions.
A level playing field for all
As Oliver Varhely, European Commissioner for Animal Health and Welfare, noted, the ultimate goal of the policy is to guarantee consumers and farmers the highest level of protection.
“Our strict health and safety rules must be applied to all products sold within the EU, whether they are produced within the bloc or imported. Controls at borders are a critical filter to confirm that foreign feeds comply with our regulations,” said a European Commission spokesperson.
