Food Sector - UEAPME’s Working Group on Foodstuffs

Small enterprises play a key role in this sector as around 80% of Europe’s food products are produced in SMEs. The UEAPME's Working Group on Foodstuffs actively monitors the developments in the EU food legislation so as to ensure that the regulations affecting SMEs are fair, feasible and allow traditional SME food manufacturers to continue to produce food in traditional ways while ensuring consumer safety.

The Working Group on Foodstuffs consists of experts from UEAPME member associations who represent the small and medium sized enterprises involved in food producing and processing. At the moment 20 experts from 8 European Member states work together in this Working Group. They share opinions on proposals for directives and regulations from the European Commission and prepare joint positions for the European Commission and the Parliament.

You can download the document on the strategy and activities of the UEAPME Working Group on Foodstuffs in English, Italian or German.

Watch our video: Policy for SMEs - UEAPME's daily bread

• You can download the movie in Windows Media (AVI) or Quicktime (MPEG) format (49MB, duration 5m57s).

Position papers

• April 2008: UEAPME position on the proposal for a regulation on the provision of food information to consumers

• December 2007: UEAPME position on the European Commission’s Proposal for a Regulation on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers

• August 2007: UEAPME position on the Recommendation from the Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits for Flour Dust (SCOEL) of March 2007

• May 2007: UEAPME position on the Draft Instrument 7371/07 and ADDS 1-4 of 14 March 2007 "Food Safety: Risk-Based ‘HACCP’ Requirement for Micro-Businesses"

• October 2006: Labelling Requirements

• October 2006: Position Paper on Obesity

• June 2006: Response to DG SANCO's consultative document of February 2006 "Labelling: competitiveness, consumer information and better regulation for the EU"

• March 2005: UEAPME's position paper on the proposed Regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods

• January 2004: UEAPME position paper on the proposal for a regulation on Nutrition, Functional and Health claims made on foods COM (2003) 424 auch verfügbar auf Deutsch

Press releases

• 16/06/06: Simplified food labelling rules would serve consumers and producers alike

• 17/05/06: New rules on health claims: good for consumers, good for SMEs?

• 28/03/06: Health Claims: much remains to be done after Parliament’s Committee vote auch verfügbar auf Deutsch

• 14/01/04: UEAPME denounces Commission's Proposal on Health Claims on Food as excessive and unfeasible for SMEs aussi disponible en Français auch verfügbar auf Deutsch

• 19/06/03: Small Businesses and foodstuffs: MEPs join UEAPME's call against compulsory documentation in traditional food production process
  auch verfügbar auf Deutsch

• 04/06/03: Foodstuff legislation: UEAPME welcomes Commissioner Byrne consideration for small and micro food producers
  auch verfügbar auf Deutsch

Key EU documents

In order to assist Member States and food business operators to better understand the new food hygiene rules, the following documents were prepared by the European Commission:

• Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food SafetyAuthorityand laying down procedures in matters of food safety: EN;  DE;  FR;  IT

• Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs: EN;  DE;  FR;  IT

• Guidance document on the implementation of certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs: EN;  DE;  FR;  IT

• Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 on the hygiene of food of animal origin: EN;  DE;  FR;  IT

• Guidance document on the implementation of certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 on the hygiene of food of animal origin: EN;  DE;  FR;  IT

• Guidance document on the implementation of procedures based on the HACCP principles, and on the facilitation of the implementation of the HACCP principles in certain food businesses: EN;  DE;  FR;  IT

• Directive 90/496/EEC on Nutrition Labelling for Foodstuffs: Discussion Paper on Revision of Technical Issues (see UEAPME response above)