scholarly journals STAKEHOLDER PERCEPTION OF EU FOOD SAFETY GOVERNANCE: THE CASE OF EU FRUIT AND VEGETABLE IMPORTS FROM SOUTHERN MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES

New Medit ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Camanzi ◽  
Giulio Malorgio ◽  
Abdelhakim Hammoudi

Abstract Despite the advantages ensuing from preferential market access agreements, trade exchanges between Southern Mediterranean Countries (SMCs) and the EU are often hindered by food safety issues. These are particularly relevant for fruit and vegetables, which are subject to heterogeneous regulations in SMCs. This paper seeks to outline governance solutions to improve ex-ante compliance capacity of SMCs production and to enhance integration with the EU market. A set of research hypotheses, concerning the difficulties and benefits related with food safety compliance, are formulated. These hypotheses are then discussed in the light of the empirical evidence gathered from (i) public bodies involved in food safety enforcement and (ii) a direct survey conducted on 37 stakeholders in the fruit and vegetable supply chain in Italy. The main problems identified relate to the scarce harmonization among control systems in EU Member States and insufficient checks in exporting countries. The main benefits include the reduction of sanitary risk and the reinforcement of long-term trust-based relations along the supply chain. The most promising strategies encompass the improvement of inspections on production sites and of infrastructures in the countries of origin. Further areas of intervention concern the harmonization of food safety regulation between EU countries and SMCs and the development of bilateral cooperation and technical training programs.

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1850031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Péridy

One major objective of the new EU neighborhood policy is to move towards more trade integration between the enlarged EU and its new Eastern and Southern neighbors, i.e., Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, as well as Southern Mediterranean and Caucasus countries. Using recent theoretical developments in gravity models, this paper derives an estimable equation, which particularly focuses on trade costs. This equation is then used to investigate the new neighbors' export potential towards the EU market. For this purpose, several Hausman and Taylor's models are implemented in order to consider the correlation between certain independent variables and the residuals which are used to calculate trade potentials. Results outline that the NNCs' export potential is generally significant, especially for the new Eastern neighbors. However, it seems that this potential is limited for Mediterranean countries, as they have already enjoyed preferential market access with regards to the EU. Finally, an extension of the analysis to Middle-East and Gulf countries also highlights significant trade potentials with the EU.


Foods ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 204
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kowalska ◽  
Louise Manning

Sesame seeds within the European Union (EU) are classified as foods not of animal origin. Two food safety issues associated with sesame seeds have emerged in recent years, i.e., Salmonella contamination and the presence of ethylene oxide. Fumigation with ethylene oxide to reduce Salmonella in seeds and spices is not approved in the EU, so its presence in sesame seeds from India was a sentinel incident sparking multiple trans-European product recalls between 2020–2021. Following an interpretivist approach, this study utilises academic and grey sources including data from the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) database to inform a critical appraisal of current EU foods not of animal origin legislation and associated governance structures and surveillance programs. This is of particular importance as consumers are encouraged towards plant-based diets. This study shows the importance of collaborative governance utilizing data from company testing and audits as well as official regulatory controls to define the depth and breadth of a given incident in Europe. The development of reflexive governance supported by the newest technology (e.g., blockchain) might be of value in public–private models of food safety governance. This study contributes to the literature on the adoption of risk-based food safety regulation and the associated hybrid public–private models of food safety governance where both regulators and private organizations play a vital role in assuring public health.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Hadjigeorgiou ◽  
Elpidoforos S. Soteriades ◽  
Anastasios Philalithis ◽  
Anna Psaroulaki ◽  
Yiannis Tselentis ◽  
...  

This paper is a comparative survey of the National Food Safety Systems (NFSS) of the European Union (EU) Member-States (MS) and the Central EU level. The main organizational structures of the NFSS, their legal frameworks, their responsibilities, their experiences, and challenges relating to food safety are discussed. Growing concerns about food safety have led the EU itself, its MS and non-EU countries, which are EU trade-partners, to review and modify their food safety systems. Our study suggests that the EU and 22 out of 27 Member States (MS) have reorganized their NFSS by establishing a single food safety authority or a similar organization on the national or central level. In addition, the study analyzes different approaches towards the establishment of such agencies. Areas where marked differences in approaches were seen included the division of responsibilities for risk assessment (RA), risk management (RM), and risk communication (RC). We found that in 12 Member States, all three areas of activity (RA, RM, and RC) are kept together, whereas in 10 Member States, risk management is functionally or institutionally separate from risk assessment and risk communication. No single ideal model for others to follow for the organization of a food safety authority was observed; however, revised NFSS, either in EU member states or at the EU central level, may be more effective from the previous arrangements, because they provide central supervision, give priority to food control programs, and maintain comprehensive risk analysis as part of their activities.


New Medit ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 17-29
Author(s):  
Mohamed Amine Hedoui ◽  
Dimitrios Natos ◽  
Konstadinos Mattas

EU agricultural integrated policies among the EU and the southern Mediterranean countries are more evidently distilled through the EU-Mediterranean process (EUROMED). After 10 years of the Agadir agreement entry into force, this paper attempts to assess the agriculture trade integration among countries signed under the agreement, namely Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan, by evaluating firstly the degree of sectorial and geographical dispersion of the four countries agricultural exports and secondly appraising the extent of agricultural trade complementarity towards EU countries. In this study, using the available agricultural trade data for the period 2007-2016 and the twenty-four agricultural sectors classification (CN codes 01-24), we will build three trade indices; Regional Hirschman, Sectorial Hirschman and the Trade Complementarity Index. And, finally, we will discuss the result and highlight the limitation and the challenges that hinder agricultural trade integration among southern and northern Mediterranean countries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 89-103
Author(s):  
Naim Mathlouthi

This Article draws on the analysis of historical relations between the European Union and the Southern Mediterranean countries and highlights the main initiatives and consequences of the adopted practices of democratisation in the region following the Arab Uprisings. The main focus is on the continuity and limited changes in the new approach. One of the main findings is that the limited reform of the EU approach primarily resulted from the inherited political constraints. The net result was a set of structured security-orientated relationships that will continue to repeat earlier mistakes before 2011. The mechanisms of democracy promotion including conditionality remained inherently full of contradictions. The double standards in applying the conditionality principle  in addition to the lack of significant leverage rendered the EU democratisation approach of the Southern neighbours inapt. Despite the  2011 ENP review promise of a substantial change in the EU democratisation approach, it seems that the EU’s initial euphoria following the “Arab spring” has waned as it  seems to repeat the same old approach  of  liberalisation and securitisation of the  Southern Mediterranean region rather than democratisation.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (13) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
M. Luisa Martí Selva ◽  
José M. García Álvarez-Coque

The aim of this research is to discuss a different way to represent the influence of Association Agreements on the agricultural trade between Southern Mediterranean Countries and the European Union in the period 1995-2004. A yearly analysis makes it possible to study trade changes after the Association Agreement between European Union and Southern Mediterranean Countries. For assessment of the Association Agreements, groups of countries with different treatment granted by the EU can separately considered. For these purposes, a gravity model approach could be of help, in particular for differentiated products such as fruits and vegetables.


2011 ◽  
Vol 474-476 ◽  
pp. 2150-2154
Author(s):  
Xu Li ◽  
Pin Chao Liu

With the people's attention to food safety issues, And RFID used in the field of the traceability of food safety. Design a system of based on RFID that used to trace the information of food safety. This paper talks about the layers of the system, as well as analyzes every layer’s function, and describes the operating mechanism of this system.


2009 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Galanopoulos ◽  
Fredrik O.L. Nilsson ◽  
Emma Wajnblom ◽  
Yves Surry

The Barcelona Agreement, which aims to establish a free trade zone between most Mediterranean countries and the EU, was seen as an opportunity for the former to gain easier access to and increase their share of the European fruit and vegetable market. Mediterranean countries are traditional growers of fruit and vegetables, but are struggling to remain competitive in the global market. This paper reports on the current situation and on future prospects for production and trade in fruit and vegetables in the Mediterranean, emphasizing the challenges these countries need to tackle to increase their competitiveness.


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