EUREPGAP - Private Sector Food Safety and Environmental Standards

One of the strongest forces shaping new ways of thinking about the role of producers in Europe is widespread consumer demand for assurance that their food is safe. Over the past few years an extended series of incidents in the European food business has created public uncertainty and discomfort. The list includes such widely reported crises as mad cow disease (BSE), dioxin, diesel fuel in palm oil, sewage waste in feed, listeria in cheese, salmonella and antibiotics in poultry, and E-coli in animal meat.

Because of these potential assaults on the personal health of consumers and the immense cost to European producers and grocers once consumers lose confidence in the food system, the issue of food safety has risen to the top of the European food agenda. The questions are: Who is responsible for guaranteeing safe food? and, What is the best way to guarantee that the food supply is safe? While many entities are focusing resources on answering these two questions, each organization, depending on its stakeholders, has a slightly different approach. The grocery chains made a strong response to shaky consumer confidence in the food supply system by initiating a strict system of self-appraisal and outside certification called EUREPGAP. Over time, the grocery industry has broadened EUREPGAP’s membership to include representatives from various sectors on the food supply chain.