Health safety of foods:: Evolution of the structural and regulatory framework

For consummers, safety is the most important ingredient of their food. Recent crisis have undermined public confidence in the capacity of the food industry and of public authorities to ensure that food is safe. These crisis have shown the necessary evolution of the strutural and legislative context, not only at the national level, but also at the international level. To protect public health. the law entrusted the control of food safety to public authorities. At the european level, the white paper on food safety of February 2000 sets out the plans for a proactive new food policy : modernising legislation into a coherent and transparent set of rules, establishing the principle that food operators have primary responsability for food safety.