the voice of the european food and drink industry introduction to ciaa copenhagen, 14-15 december...

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Introduction to CIAA

Copenhagen, 14-15 December 2006

The voice of the European food and drink industry

Overview

• Introduction to CIAA:– Obligations of Food and Feed Business operators– How does CIAA operate?

• Some case studies:– Acrylamide– Benzene– Substances migrating from packaging

• Lessons learned from the case studies:– The CIAA incident team

• Conclusions

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CIAA Role and Mission• Represents the interests of the European food and drink

industries • Contributes to the creation of the most favourable economic and

legislative environment possible for the development of the food and drink industry

• Promotes the image of a dynamic and responsible industry• Acts as the voice of European food and drink companies

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CIAA Members

• COUNTRIES– 25 National Food Industry Federations– Including 3 observers from Norway, Romania & Turkey

• SECTORS– 32 European Sector Associations

• COMPANIES– 22 major companies producing in the EU

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Obligations of Food and Feed Business Operators

• Safety• Responsibility• Traceability• Transparency• Emergency• Prevention• Co-operation• OF FOOD AND FEED BUSINESS• OPERATORS

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Emerging risks – what are we talking about?

• Definition of emerging risk: A potential food- or feed-borne or diet-related hazard that may become a risk for human health in the (near) future.Emerging risks can result from three different types of hazards, such as:– An unidentified new form of a known hazard (e.g. unidentified mycotoxin,

avian influenza?);– A hazard which is not well-known at the time of its appearance in food

(e.g. acrylamide);– A well-known re-emerging hazard: (e.g. Brucellosis).

• Excluded are:– Unidentified hazards of which nothing is known;– Well-characterised hazards which are currently controlled.

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The Holistic View

Food Chain

Science, Technology,

Industry

Nature & Environment

Government & Policies

Information Consumer Behaviour

Economy AgriculturePublic

Health & Welfare

Culture & Demography

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How does CIAA operate?• SCIENCE• FSM (Food Safety Mgt)

– Crisis/incident Mgt ad hoc Working Group• CONT (Contaminants)

– Undesirable heat-treated process substances technical Working Group• INGR (Ingredients)

– REACH ad hoc Working Group• HYG (Hygiene)• NORM (Int.Standards)• NOVF (Novel Foods)/GMOs• MAT (Food Contact Materials)• FEED• R&D (Research)• Various consumer information Working Groups

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Case Study - Acrylamide

• Not a new risk – new discovery• Industry wishes to play a role• Long-term issue

– Global impact– Does not only affect processed foods

• Should not become a competitive issue• Need collective stakeholder approach

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Case Study - Acrylamide

Contains Four Sections:

1. Variety Selection

2. Storage Management

3. Process Management

4. Final Preparation

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Case Study - Acrylamide• Natural parameters

e.g. agronomic factors and biological and chemical parameters of crops & bulk ingredients

• Product compositione.g. changes in recipes

• Process conditions

e.g. thermal input or pre-treatment of product or ingredients

• Finished product characteristicse.g. colour, moisture, taste, shelf-life

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Case Study – Benzene in Soft Drinks

• The formation of benzene can occur when ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate react together under certain conditions;

• The industry has been working to eliminate or at least minimise trace benzene formation through a variety of approaches;

• Industy continues to closely monitor the situation;

• The levels of benzene found in some beverages represent a negligible amount compared to the overall benzene intakes from environmental sources, and even from other foods;

• The levels of benzene found in soft drinks do not pose health concerns.

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Case Study – Benzene in Soft Drinks

• RECOMMENDATION 1: REVIEWBeverage companies to review their existing products and new formulations considering the known information relative to procedures for the prevention / minimisation of benzene formation.

• RECOMMENDATION 2: TESTBeverage companies to perform analytical sampling of appropriate products for benzene through accelerated storage tests

• RECOMMENDATION 3: REFORMULATEBeverage companies to reformulate affected products in which benzene may be present, to eliminate or reduce benzene formation to the fullest extent possible.

• RECOMMENDATION 4: MONITOR POST-LAUNCH

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Case Study - Migrating Substances from Packaging

• ITX in a liquid food package triggered a rapid alert to all Member States in Week 37, 2005

• The Commission’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, toxicology section, met on 30 November, 2005 to assess the situation

• On 9th December, well ahead of schedule, EFSA issued a final Opinion on ITX, which stated:

•  “The presence of ITX (2-Isopropylthioxanthone) in food, whilst undesirable, does not raise health concerns at the levels reported. ITX is a substance which has been found in minute quantities in liquid baby milk and other products packaged in cartons.”

• Tetra Pak committed itself to phasing out the use of this substance in packaging for milk, fatty liquids and juices by the end of January

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Case Study - Migrating Substances from Packaging

• At the initiative of CIAA, a joint industry Working Group (ad hoc Group) comprising the F&D, packaging and ink industries, and led by the packaging industry, was launched in January 2006

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• Maintain consumers’ trust both in the food industry and in the authorities;

• Preserve trust between the food industry and the authorities; • Maintain confidence in company brands;• Minimise economic implications for companies and society at

large;• Perform an initial risk assessment either alone or with other

concerned partners of the chain     

• To create a high level ad hoc emergency /crisis Working Group

Lessons to be learned

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The Management of Risks The CIAA Perspective

• CIAA has established a crisis team which is prepared to react within 48 hours, but which does not replace the responsiblities of individual companies.

• This team will :1) Analyse emerging issues by considering:– The nature of the issue:

• Industry risk assessment;• Industry risk management proposals and/or steps taken;• Discussion and analysis of risk management decisions/options

2) Communicate:• With national incident groups and establish procedures for sharing

information;• With media, stakeholders and other concerned parties

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The Management of Risks The CIAA Perspective

• The food and drink industry is prepared to provide any support to risk managers to either prevent issues or to solve emerging issues related to the following as quickly as possible:– A food safety risk;– An emerging issue: limited data / no specific regulation;– A significant consumer/media perceived risk

• In situations where a food company becomes aware of new information which may affect the safety of its products, it shall perform an initial risk assessment, either alone or with other affected partners of the chain => coordinated approach

• Affected companies will take prompt action and, where relevant, in a manner consistent with the modus operandi (chemical substances) recently published by DG SANCO

• Need for coordinated approach between Commission and MS

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Conclusions• Early and adequate use of all relevant information or signals about

what could be an emerging risk is all important;• Early evaluation of the hazard and of the exposure, including

remediation of gaps in knowledge, should be carried out. Ideally, an emotional climate should not be allowed to influence the evaluation;

• Informing media and public in a timely manner is essential; – Early evaluation of the case to be carried out in a way that

facilitates a clear understanding of the problem – Communication and co-ordination between all parties

concerned should be fair and complete • Resources devoted to emerging risks to be based on an

appropriate risk/benefit analysis.

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Where to find more information about CIAA

CIAA Public Websitehttp://www.ciaa.be

Access to news and positions

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION