Commenting on the new legislation set by the European Commission on food supply chain transparency, Hilary Ross, Head of Retail, Food and Hospitality at DWF, said:
"The EU commission’s new proposal shows an increasing trend towards populism when it comes to law making in the EU. However, by stipulating that the details of all studies are to be made public automatically when an application is validated, research and development within the food industry across Europe will be adversely affected.
"The legislation is supposed to address the perception that big food manufacturers are manipulating the system and the Commission is hoping that it can restore public faith by allowing this open scrutiny. In fact, by only allowing scientific research information to remain confidential in the most stringent of circumstances, it totally removes any incentive for innovative R&D.
"In its scramble to achieve transparency and proportionality, the Commission has also failed to carry out an impact assessment - bypassing one of the corner-stone principles of bringing in new regulations. This legislation has all the hallmarks of a Commission desperate to appease the growing dissatisfaction of citizens in member states, rather than balanced regulation necessitated by reality."
