Farmers and growers take a 'wait and see' approach to EU hygiene enforcement

Farms and primary food producers in the UK are taking a 'wait and see' approach to the enforcement of the EU food hygiene regime, which took effect at the start of December 2006, according to Eversheds LLP.

The legislation affects farmers and growers, in many cases, for the first time and is an extension of the EU's 'farm to fork' approach to food safety legislation, which is currently being rolled out across the supply chain. Following a consultation by the Food Standards Agency, local authorities are now responsible for the enforcement of the regime in the primary production sector.

Anthony McGurk, partner and food law specialist at Eversheds LLP, said:

"It is not yet clear how local authorities are going to approach their new role as enforcers under this legislation and farmers and primary food producers will most likely choose to wait and see before changing existing practices.

"The Food Standards Agency will be producing guidance for local authorities on how to enforce the legislation in the near future."

While consulting with the industry about how the legislation will be enforced, the industry raised a number of concerns. In particular, there is concern that the regime will be a burden for primary food producers and could mean more farm inspections. The consultation also raised concerns that farmers and growers could find they are dealing with more than one enforcement body.

Anthony McGurk commented:

"While the guidance on enforcement is not yet available, the Food Standards Agency is expected to take account of these concerns by keeping any required increase in inspections to a minimum and making sure visits are well-planned to avoid duplication of effort."

The Food Standards Agency's web site has a Q&A for producers, which provides an overview of the legislation and details about the proposed enforcement arrangements.