Brussels, 24/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the European Commission published the results of a report by the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO), which takes stock of the national measures taken in order to reduce the risk of food contamination by escherichia coli (E.coli).
The report presents examples of good practices that can prove useful to fight against the bacteria. It gives an overview of the results of inspections carried out last year in six EU Member States (Germany, Belgium, Denmark, France, Portugal and Sweden) concerning controls of VTEC (verocytotoxin-producing escherichia coli), and establishes that, in all countries, public and private operators are vigilant when it comes to the risk of contamination. Inspectors, who are focused on establishments that process red meat, meat products, milk and dairy products, have observed a large number of different initiatives and control measures, both public and private, in order to detect and prevent such contamination, and insist that there is wider adoption of "best practices" of certain Member States. The FVO report recommends that the Commission and the Member States should together undertake to develop guidelines
to reach a more coherent approach concerning the detection, notification, prevention, control and study of VTEC outbreaks in animal and human populations. It also recommends that national authorities should inform consumers about the risks presented by VTEC and of measures that may be taken to prevent and control infection. At the present time, there is no specific European legislation specifying what controls the national authorities should carry out concerning contamination by E.coli in the food chain. Nonetheless, a proposal of directive on zoonoses, which provides for the possibility of fixing harmonised goals at the European level to reduce contamination by this bacteria, has currently been submitted to Parliament and Council. These two institutions are examining, moreover, proposals for recasting the existing hygiene provisions that were presented by the Commission in July 2000. Commenting on the publication of the FVO report, the Commission responsible for consumer health and protection, David Byrne, said that the new legislation proposed concerning food hygiene and zoonoses will provide an appropriate framework for great improvement. In the meantime, he went on, national authorities will naturally be well-advised to examine the best practices identified and begin to apply them wherever possible. The text of the report is available at the following address: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/foods/fs/inspections/special_reports/sr_rep_4320-2001_en.pdf.