Article 1–Article 4 · 4 articles
Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
Subject matter
1. This Decision establishes the general plan for crisis management in the field of the safety of food and feed in accordance with Article 55 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.
2. The plan covers the following two types of situations:
(a)
Situations requiring enhanced Union coordination; and
(b)
Situations requiring the setting up of a crisis unit bringing together the Commission as well as relevant Member States and Union agencies.
3. The plan also sets out the practical procedures necessary for enhanced preparedness and for the management of incidents at Union level, including a communication strategy in accordance with the principle of transparency.
Scope
The general plan shall apply to situations involving direct or indirect risks to public health deriving from food and feed, in particular in relation to any hazard in food and feed of biological, chemical and physical nature, which are not likely to be prevented, eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level by provisions in place or cannot adequately be managed solely by way of application of emergency measures in accordance with Article 53 or 54 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.
Objectives
The objectives of this Decision are to minimise the extent and impact of food- or feed-borne incidents on public health, by ensuring enhanced preparedness and effective management.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)
‘Incident’ means the detection of a biological, chemical or physical hazard in food, feed or humans which might result in or indicate a possible public health risk with the exposure of more than one person to the same hazard, or a situation in which the number of human cases or detections of a hazard exceed the expected number and where cases are linked or probably linked, to the same food or feed source;
(2)
‘foodborne outbreak’ as defined in Article 2(2)(d) of Directive 2003/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 8 ) ;
(3)
‘crisis coordinator’ means a person and his/her alternate from the European institutes and from competent authorities of Member States who acts as one single contact point to ensure effective exchange of information between all partners involved in the coordination of the general plan and efficient decision making and implementation of actions within the competence of his/her organisation.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
