Activities of Bart STAES related to 2013/2091(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the food crisis, fraud in the food chain and the control thereof PDF (239 KB) DOC (125 KB)
Amendments (24)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the EU regulatory framework in place for food safety and the food chain has provided thea highest level of food safety for EU consumers until now;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas recent fraud cases include the marketing of horsemeat as beef, of ordinary flour as organic flour, of battery cage eggs as organic eggs, of road salt as food salt and of horsemeat as beef, and, of maize contaminated by aflatoxins, the use of methanol- contaminated alcohol in spirits, and the mislabelling of fish species;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that recent food fraud cases have exposed different types of food fraud, such as replacing key ingredients with cheaper alternatives, wrongly labelling the animal species used in a meat or seafood products, incorrectly labelling weight, selling ordinary foods as organic, unfairly using origin or animal welfare quality logos, labelling aquaculture fish as wild-caught, counterfeiting and marketing food past its ‘use-by’ date;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Points out that foods which are often subject to fraudulent activities include olive oil, fish, meat, organic products, grains, honey, coffee, tea, spices, wine, certain fruit juices and milk;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes that food fraud generally occurs where the potential financial gain is high, and the risk of getting caught low; considers it regrettuntenable that committing food fraud in the EU is lucrative and that the chances of getting caught are relatively low;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Points to the complexity and cross- border character of the food chain, in combination with the predominantly national character of controls, sanctions and enforcement, a situation which is believed to increase the risk of food fraud; believes that a better traceability of ingredients and products within the whole food chain would help combat fraud;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Notes that food business operators currently do not always know where the ingredients they use are sourced from;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Is convinced that shorter food chains would lower the possibilities for fraud; therefore calls for introducing a local farming and direct sales labelling scheme, which would make it possible to promote foods from short chains;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the Member States to ensure that the issues raised by FVO are properly acted on and addressed;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. More specifically, urges the Commission and Member States to act on the findings of FVO audits with regard to faked medical treatment records of animals destined for slaughter for export to the EU, and to exclude meat and other animal products from third countries, which cannot be guaranteed to be compliant with EU food safety requirements, from being placed on the EU market;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Considers that official controls should focus not only on food safety issues, but also on preventing fraud and the risk of consumers being misled; welcomes the fact that the Commission's proposal for a review of official controls incorporates extra controls in respect of food fraud where competent authorities have reason to suspect fraudulent behaviour by an operator;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Rejects any plans to delegate inspection tasks from public authorities to economic operators, as food business operators often focus on profits and lowering costs rather than on food safety and consumer protection;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Acknowledges the importance of clear and transparent business-to-business and business-to-consumer labelling and calls on the Commission to review EU food law in this area where necessary, to reduce the risk of food fraud;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Believes that food business operators should be able to tell where the food or ingredients used are sourced from, meaning that each food business operator within the production chain bears their share of the responsibility for the end product;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Recalls that Regulation 1169/2011 stipulates that the Commission will adopt, by December 2013, implementing acts regarding the mandatory labelling of the country of origin labelling for meat from swine, sheep, goats and poultry as well as on voluntary labelling; believes that labelling the places of birth, rearing and slaughter will help ensure better traceability along the food supply chain, more stable relationships between meat suppliers and processors and increased diligence when food business operators choose their suppliers and products;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Recalls that Parliament has previously called on the Commission to undertake impact assessmenfor origin labelling for all meat and meat in processed foods, and that the Commission is working on reports on origin labelling for fresh meat and products containing meat; urges the Commission to rapidly to present its impact assessments and report on this issuereports and follow up with legislative proposals; urges the Commission to rely on independent sources of information; stresses that whilst origin labelling is cannot a tool forentirely combating food fraud, although it may indirectlyit will lead to a better-informed and more transparent supply chain and help restore consumer confidence;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Considers it valuable for the food sector proactively to develop private-sector anti-fraud programmes such as product integrity checks, and welcomes current initiatives such as the Global Food Safety Initiative; is however convinced that industry-driven initiatives can only be an additional tool, and never replace official controls;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Believes that the retail sector has a special responsibility to guarantee the integrity of food products and to demand from its suppliers a safe and secure supply chain; believes it is the responsibility of retailers to check at least the formal compliance with labelling rules; deplores the pressure on primary producers from retail and other food business operators to produce ever more cheaply;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Is convinced that unannounced independent inspections are essential to ensure effective implementation of food safety and labelling standards; therefore believes that unannounced inspections should be the norm;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Recommends that the FVO and national authorities include in their audits so-called mass balance checks on input and, output and waste flows;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Calls on the Commission, as a matter of urgency, to put in place an electronic system to enable the rapid exchange of information between Member States and the Commission in food fraud cases; calls for the publication of annual reports outlining cases of fraud that have been uncovered, by analogy with the RASFF reports;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 a (new)
Paragraph 29 a (new)
29a. Suggests introducing DNA testing as a standard procedure for determining species, especially regarding meat and fish products, and to establish a centralized DNA database to this end;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 b (new)
Paragraph 29 b (new)
29b. Calls on the Commission to address loopholes in existing food safety and traceability rules related to imports of food from third parties, which bear a higher risk of food fraud;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29 c (new)
Paragraph 29 c (new)
29c. Believes that the outcomes of controls should be made public in a way easily accessible and understandable for consumers, e.g. in the form of a rating scheme; is convinced that this would help consumers in making decisions and also give incentives for food business operators to perform well;