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Food and feed safety

JRC actions in this area are in line with the "farm to table" concept which takes into account consumers' demands and feedback right along the food chain.

Food needs to be nutritious, fresh and above all safe. Consumers should be able to have trust in the products they buy. Recent "food crises" such as dioxins in food and feed, mad cow disease, melamine in milk products, plasticisers in sport drinks and the contamination with enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) have emphasised the importance of safety in the food chain.

Since food of animal origin represents a significant part of our diet, the feed necessary for raising livestock needs to comply with strict quality and safety standards. Assuring safety along the food supply chain, including materials coming in direct contact with food, is a key priority for the European Commission.

The JRC provides analytical tools that allow Member States to achieve reliable and comparable measurement results to support the harmonised implementation of the strict rules set up in EU food safety legislation. These tools include validated methods, reference materials, proficiency testing and competence building. They are available to laboratories across and beyond the EU. Their activities are facilited within the framework of the European Union Reference Laboratories.

The JRC hosts three European Union Reference Laboratories (EURLs) working on food and feed related issues; one in the area of food safety control (food contact materials) and two in the area of control as well as the pre-marketing authorisation of certain products (feed additives and genetically modified organisms).

Discover some of the areas we are currently working on and a list of food and feed safety related scientific publications.

Smoke flavourings

Smoking is a traditional technique to preserve food and give it a specific flavour. It is increasingly replaced by the use of smoke flavourings which need to be assessed for safety and registered. EU legislation establishes maximum levels for each of the authorised products in certain food products. However, currently no analytical methods exist for checking compliance with legislation.

The JRC has set up advanced analytical methods to unravel the chemical composition of smoke flavourings to identify marker compounds which can help in controlling the levels added to food.

Food allergy and gluten intolerance

Food allergy is recognised as a serious health problem that affects about 17 million people in Europe, 3.5 million of them younger than 25 years old.

Undeclared allergens such as milk, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, soya, or lupin in food products, often introduced unintentionally during processing, represent a major health threat to allergic consumers.

Besides allergy sufferers there is also a considerable amount of consumers that do not tolerate gluten which is contained in cereals.

Appropriate labeling of allergens and gluten in food products is therefore of utmost important for the well-being of these individuals. The JRC has a diversified portfolio of research activities, all directed to the development and validation of analytical methods to ensure compliance of food products with label declaration.

Latest scientific publications

Veterinary drugs in feed

Veterinary drugs are used to cure and prevent diseases in animals. Excessive use antibiotics in food producing animals may lead to an increase of antimicrobial resistance of pathogenic bacteria that can be a risk to human health. Therefore, EU legislation has banned all of them as feed additives with the exception of coccidiostats for which maximum limits have been set.

The JRC developed the necessary methods to determine coccidiostats at the authorised level of usage.

Related scientific publications

To find out more about the JRC's work on similar topics, explore the related JRC portfolios:

See all JRC portfolios