Cyriel Ruers and Mats Reijman are assisting a global premium pet food producer in an investigation by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) into an alleged violation of the General Food Law Regulation (GFL). According to the NVWA, the feed business operator did not take all the necessary measures to ensure that the feed in question met the applicable requirements. Consequently, the NVWA ordered the pet food producer to recall its feed products from the market and destroy its existing products. Producers, however, often have good grounds to argue why removal and destruction is not warranted.
The GFL lays down the general principles and requirements of food and feed safety. It follows from the GFL, that food and feed business operators have the primary legal responsibility to ensure that their products comply with the applicable requirements at all stages of the process (production, processing and distribution). If a company considers or has reason to believe that its food or feed is unsafe, it may not be placed on the market. The NVWA is responsible for monitoring food safety and may take enforcement action in the event of violations. For more information about food safety, see our recent blog.
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