Food Law and Food Safety
Lawyers within the firm are widely recognised as experts in matters relating to the national, European and international regulation of food law and food safety.
We have worked on a wide range of issues related to food safety, health and nutrition claims, labelling and traceability, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), hygiene and veterinary regulation, advising Governments and private parties on EU and international regulatory frameworks, including trade-related aspects of food regulation.
Our lawyers have considerable experience in relation to the WTO rules and procedures under the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.
The firm is also familiar with the negotiation, adoption and use of international standards such as those of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the ones set by the Office of Epizootics and the International Plant Protection Convention.
In particular, with respect to national and EU regulation of food and food safety, we have inter alia:
- Advised on several issues related to EU labelling requirements;
- Prepared two studies for the European Commission on the conformity of the national legislation adopted by the applicant countries for accession to the European Union (Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Lithuania, Latvia, Cyprus, Malta, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia) as regards transposition of the acquis communautaire on food;
- Made an assessment of specific health and nutrition claims under EU and national law;
- Advised on the use of plant protection products on fruit and vegetables;
- Advised on the implementation of traceability systems, as well as on national rules implementing traceability and free movement consequences;
- Advised on aspects related to trade in GMOs (i.e., the authorisation of GMOs, trade into and out of the EU, the labelling of food ingredients derived from GMOs, and WTO aspects of GMOs regulation); and
- Advised the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Estonia on the approximation of its phytosanitary law to EU and WTO rules.
On the international regulation of food and food safety, we have
- Led and worked with a team of lawyers and scientific experts in charge of analysing the WTO consistency, under the GATT and the SPS Agreement, of certain European countries’ measures prohibiting the importation and marketability of kava and kava-based products from Pacific islands;
- Prepared a study for the UK’s DFID on the legal aspects of non-governmental standards (i.e., private standards) and standards-setting bodies within the context of the WTO;
- Advised Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy on aspects of TBT regulation and intellectual property rights, particularly the relationship between trademarks and geographical indications and their protection under Ukrainian law for purposes of WTO accession negotiations;
- Advised the Governments of Ukraine and Vietnam to adequately set up the SPS and TBT transparency instruments (i.e., enquiry points and notification authorities);
- Advised ACP countries on issues of SPS regulation and food safety traceability under WTO and EU law, including suggestions for the conclusion of bilateral or plurilateral equivalency agreements;
- Advised the Government of Ecuador and bananas exporters to evaluate and challenge in the Turkey-SPS Measures case at the WTO;
- Advised the Government of Macedonia on the implementation of the TBT obligations; and
- Advice to an international trade association on a possible EU trade ban on fur products originating in countries which do not enforce international humane leghold trapping standards.
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