The European Union maintains one of the world’s most restrictive food-control systems, placing particular emphasis on quality, safety, and compliance with EU standards. Oversight mechanisms cover both food produced within the EU and goods imported from third countries, which must meet identical requirements. With trade volumes rising and new international agreements being negotiated, the effectiveness of these procedures remains one of the key pillars of the single market.
“The EU food-control system has been built over many years and consists of many elements. First and foremost, control begins already at the point of dispatch—meaning in third countries, if the product is imported. It is then checked at the border and at the moment the goods are placed on the market. The entity placing the product on the market must guarantee that it meets EU requirements, which are horizontal and identical for all goods—both those produced in the EU and those brought in from abroad,” Dr Jerzy Plewa told Newseria. Plewa is a former Deputy Minister of Agriculture and served as Director-General for Agriculture and Rural Development at the European Commission from 2013 to 2020.
“Audits can be carried out in third countries where these products are produced, but also—as is happening right now—food from outside the EU is checked at borders and in ports. There are, of course, procedures for this. Our control services, inspections, and institutions conduct food checks every day,” says Stefan Krajewski, Poland’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
EU rules do not differentiate food safety requirements by country of origin. As the European Commission emphasizes, strict import rules on food and feed hygiene, consumer safety, and the health of animals and plants are intended to ensure that all imports meet the same high standards as goods produced within the EU.
“Controls on products from outside the EU are very extensive—especially for products of animal origin, which may pose a higher risk. Imports are allowed only from areas that have been approved. From regions where, for example, diseases are present, import is not possible,” Dr Plewa reminds.
In addition to audits in third countries and border checks, goods are also subject—depending on risk assessment—to spot laboratory testing. The EU also operates highly developed systems for monitoring shipments. TRACES is the EU’s IT system for tracking and certifying consignments of animals, animal products, food, feed, and plants. The platform supports control authorities across the EU, increasing transparency, safety, and the effectiveness of oversight in trade and imports.
Another key tool is the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), which enables Member States and the European Commission to exchange information quickly about dangerous food and feed products. Notifications may concern, among other issues, exceedances of permitted pesticide residue levels, the presence of prohibited substances or antibiotics, or microbiological hazards. Depending on the nature of the breach, authorities can not only stop a specific batch, but also temporarily suspend imports from a given plant, region, or third country, and place subsequent deliveries under enhanced supervision.
“It can be said with certainty that EU food meets much higher requirements and is safer than food in many parts of the world,” the former Deputy Minister stresses. “In the European Union, for instance, it is not allowed to produce beef or poultry using hormones. That is banned and very strictly monitored.” He adds that there is also “a long list of pesticides recognized as harmful to consumer health. They cannot be used, and if they were detected, the consequences would be severe.”
“We are not talking only about pesticide residues, but also residues of antibiotics, heavy metal content, or the microbiological quality of food,” says Dr hab. Zbigniew Karaczun, a professor at the Department of Environmental Protection and Dendrology at SGGW University of Life Sciences in Warsaw and an expert with the Climate Coalition. “Quality standards and controls are measures that protect consumer health and safety. The benefit is that when we buy products from the EU—whether Polish, German, French, or Italian—we know what we are eating, we know it is safe for us as consumers, and that it has been very carefully inspected.”
As Dr Plewa notes, concerns about food safety repeatedly resurface in discussions about the EU’s trade agreement with Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay), often accompanied by misinformation.
“This agreement changes nothing in terms of food safety. In response to these concerns, the Commission announced increased monitoring of agri-food flows, as well as stricter controls of imported food. That should reassure consumers and producers. I think practice will show these fears are greatly exaggerated,” the expert argues. “This market already exists. Poland imports 3.5 million tonnes of high-protein feed from Mercosur, and nothing bad is happening.”
One of the most important areas of EU regulation remains the rules governing allowable levels of chemical residues in food, including plant protection products. These parameters are regularly inspected in trade with third countries.
“Mercosur countries have much more lenient standards when it comes to pesticide residues. For example, for glyphosate in Brazil, the limit in products such as coffee is ten times more lenient than in the EU, and in drinking water it is up to 5,000 times more lenient,” Prof. Karaczun says. “But it is not the case that such products will simply be allowed into Europe. Exporters from Mercosur will have to meet the standards in force in the European Union.”
“There is currently a discussion at EU level to control agricultural products entering from third countries, but also to conduct on-site audits where these products are produced,” adds Minister Krajewski.
The European Commission has announced tougher controls on food and other products of animal and plant origin imported into the EU. Over the next two years, the number of audits carried out in third countries is expected to increase by around 50%. There will also be more audits at EU border control posts to verify whether Member States conduct border inspections in line with EU requirements. The Commission says it will closely monitor goods and countries where non-compliance is identified.
At the end of January, the Commission set up a task force aimed at strengthening the EU’s ability to ensure that imported products comply with EU standards. Its work will focus, among other areas, on pesticide residues and the effectiveness of control procedures. The task force is expected to contribute to further harmonization of import controls across the EU and to identify where additional administrative or regulatory measures are needed to strengthen oversight.
“As Poland, we are also focusing on additional border controls and quality checks, because consumers have the right to food that is inspected, safe, and available,” the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development emphasizes.
In January this year, Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture reported that it is working on a regulation to temporarily suspend the import of products containing active substances not permitted for use in the European Union. The ban is to be temporary and may be extended. The measures are expected to initially cover selected products—mainly fruits and vegetables—in which the presence of substances such as carbendazim, benomyl, glufosinate, thiophanate-methyl, and mancozeb has been identified. The draft regulations are to be notified to the European Commission.
