Experts: "Food has never been so safe"

Experts answered the questions of the Civic Forum evening paper
readers. This time it came to legal questions in terms of food.
Single high-ropes course in Hamburg! Directly to the U 1 and yet in
Hamburg. Top speakers, as it were entertaining and informative
lectures, incisive questions - at the eleventh Citizens' Forum of the
Hamburger Abendblatt and the Hamburg Bar Association (HAV), the guests
had to match the topic of food law, enormous hunger - hunger for
knowledge. The lawyers and food expert Professor Moritz Hagen and
Meyer Carl von Jagow (both firm Krohn) gave a fact-rich and
fascinating impression of a rather bulky field of law. Their
conclusion: "Even with all the bad news - there has never been safer
than the food today." The evening paper documented the responses of
the speakers here.

"Potato cellar" was regarded as a source of EHEC pathogen
Hamburger Abendblatt: How useful is the 1997 which came into force
"Novel Foods Regulation '?
Professor Moritz Hagen Meyer: From a scientific point of view there is
no valid reason why the regulation is currently in force in 1997. All
products that have since come on the market are new, others undergo
lengthy approval process - as well as the new natural sweetener
stevia. One thing is certain: Had the Regulation entered into force
earlier, had some food was never approved. For example, coffee - which
contains caffeine, and this substance affects the nervous system. In
my opinion we face with this regulation is not only one but two legs.
Keyword of regulations: What does the new food information regulation?
Carl von Jagow: There are not too many new features. The writing on
the packaging must be received in three years if the EU-wide
regulation to be implemented, is 1.2 millimeters in size. In addition,
the nutrition labeling is now mandatory - but the fact that most
manufacturers already voluntarily hold anyway. Moreover, alongside the
so-called food allergens must be labeled imitations. For example, is
the so-called press ham are: assembled from pieces of meat.
Antibiotic use in animal breeding seems to be a problem. How big is
the risk that resistance be dangerous to humans?
Hagenmeyer / von Jagow: The use of antibiotics is tightly regulated.
Besides a lot of control of the administered antibiotics must be a
certain amount of time between feeding and slaughter of animals. This
is to ensure that meat and milk contain no residues of antibiotics and
develop resistance. However, not all manufacturers comply. But even in
contaminated goods, you would have been eating very much. The panic
reaction of the public on so many supposed "limit exceeded" seems to
have strange. A good example is the famous egg-dioxin. It has two
micrograms of dioxin found in chicken eggs. To be sick of it, would
have to eat 80 eggs. On the day! Who creates that already.
During the crisis, the lack of EHEC-effectiveness of the authorities
has been criticized. What do you think of the creation of a federal
central authority in matters of health?
Jagow: I think we would not be in the EHEC evil so quickly got on the
track, if not so many cooks dabbled here and if the countries were not
subordinate authorities exchanged their experiences almost daily.
If something really explodes into a mineral water bottle, can I claim
compensation? And I must keep the receipts?
Jagow: In such a case, you can contact the manufacturer. If the bottle
has to be refilled often, so that the bottle has a defect, you must
replace the damage. Even if other things have been pulled away from
affected, he just stands for.
In other countries there are traffic lights, the food, which displays
in a red signal color on the packaging if the product of excessive
levels of sugar or fat has. Makes the traffic light in Germany make
sense?
Hagen Meyer: You can rely on - the lights will not come here. And
that's a good thing, especially since the limit of when a product is
considered harmful, drawn apparently completely arbitrary. Olive oil,
for example, then probably would get a red button for too much fat,
Diet Coke and a green button for safety, because it contains less
sugar - the equivalent indeed hardly the ideological leitmotif of the
campaign traffic. It is this entirely unclear from how many grams of
fat or sugar, the traffic light shows red. Who should determine that
serious?
Do I have to throw away after the expiration date of all products?
Jagow: The expiration date is the expiry date, which is relevant for
perishable products such as meat products. Several products can be
days or even weeks after the date completely consumed safely! The
expiration date must be clearly visible, on the same side as the name
of the product and quantity. The regulations are very strict: the
manufacturer may abbreviate "at least" not even, or may be payable up
to 10 000 € fine.
For law-seeking citizens of Hamburg Bar Association offers a service:
the attorney search service. It will be called free of charge up to
three lawyers for the appropriate case: 01804/314 314 phone, by
calling 20 cents, it is more expensive mobile.