Fundamental principles and objectives of a comparative food law

Abstract: The complexity of food production, transportation, manufacturing, and marketing has given rise to the necessity of formulating international standards and policies for food control; this subject was addressed by the Food Law Research Centre set up by Brussels University in 1975. The goal of the Centre's investigations was to define the characteristics of European food laws, analyze the principles, trends and aims on which the laws are based, and trace their evolution. The resulting study is presented along the following lines: general definition of food law, the necessity for it, and the underlying principles; the concept of food as defined by each European country; socioeconomic, geographic, and sociolegal factors; national characteristics as motivation for laws; criteria of food quality (e.g., vitamination, diet foods, use of enzymes or irradiation, additives); various structures of local or national law; regulatory organizations and procedures; methods of control and judicial sanction; and consumer education. The study concludes with a suggested outline for a modern food law.