What the regulations mean
By working to regulations also means providing measures for safety, quality and professionalism for customer loyalty. Since January 2005, EC Regulation No. 178/2002 of the European Parliament requires all companies operating in the food chain to use methods to track the flow of goods protecting food consumers. Many foods are sold or distributed following processes starting from basic ingredients; consumer protection requires the tracking of reference batches in order to trace the finished product.
“Traceability: the ability to trace and follow a food, a feed, a food-producing animal or a substance intended or expected to become part of a food or feed, through all stages of production, processing and distribution. “(Art. 3)” it is up to food or feed companies to ensure that in businesses controlled by them that foods or feeds meet the requirements of food legislation which are relevant to their activities in all phases of production, processing and distribution, and ensure that such regulations are fulfilled. Member States shall determine, furthermore, the measures and penalties applicable to any infringements of food and feed laws. “(Art. 17)” The operators of food and feed companies must be able to identify who provided them with a food, a feed, a food-producing animal or any substance intended to, or expected to become part of a food or feed. To this end, such operators shall have in place systems and procedures allowing them to make such information available to competent authorities asking for it.”(Art. 18) For more information on the legislation on traceability and on allergens download the following documents:
