The General Food Law Regulation also provided for the creation of the European Food Safety Authority (see below). In addition, the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (see p.20) was also overhauled in 2002. This demonstrated its effectiveness in 2005 when the red dye Sudan I – not approved for use in foods due to health concerns – was discovered in 12 EU countries. A series of EU Rapid Alerts were issued, enabling products to be quickly traced back to their source and recalled in order to protect consumer health. The European Commission was very aware, however, that drawing up and adopting legislation would not in itself be enough to ensure safe food for consumers. Full and proper implementation of the rules was crucial. The FVO (see p.29) plays an important role to this end, with its inspections and follow-up on noncompliance. However, much also relies on the national control authorities to ensure that EU food safety measures are
consistently well implemented. With that in mind, the EU launched an initiative entitled “Better Training for Safer Food” (see p.17).