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Food Safety

Advisory Group - Food Chain and Animal and Plant Health

This group has been repealed by the AGSFS

About the group

This group has been repealed by the AGSFS

Register of Commission Expert Groups - (E00860)

An Advisory Group on the Food Chain and Animal and Plant Health (Advisory Group) has been established by Decision 2004/613/EC to consult stakeholders in an open and transparent way at the European level during the preparation, revision and evaluation of EU food legislation.

It provides the European Commission with stakeholders' views on food safety policy, and specifically on issues related to:

  • food and feed safety
  • food and feed labelling and presentation
  • human nutrition in relation to food legislation
  • animal health and welfare
  • matters related to plant health.

Activities

  • Discussion of general policy issues at twice-yearly plenary sessions
  • Sub-groups on animal health (Animal Health Advisory Committee), plant health and plant propagating materials)
  • Consideration of specific/more technical issues in ad-hoc working groups, to which representatives of non-member organisations may also be invited

Membership

The Advisory Group is composed of 45 EU-level stakeholder organisations representing farmers, cooperatives, the food industry, retailers, consumers, professionals and civil society. In 2017 the Commission revised the membership via the Call for applications, in particular to take into account the requirements set up by the revised horizontal rules for Commission Expert groups.

Apart from full members, to 14 organisations an observer status has been proposed.

More information on members, members of sub-groups and observers can be found in the Register of Commission Expert groups and in the Transparency Register.

Call for applications for the membership of the Advisory Group on Sustainability of Food Systems

In implementing the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Commission considers appropriate to ensure consultations with all relevant stakeholders. However, issues relating to the implementation of the Farm to Fork Strategy and food systems’ sustainability in general go beyond matters of food law that are currently covered by the Advisory Group on the food chain and animal and plant health. In fact, issues relating to food systems’ sustainability require consultation with groups of stakeholders with a broader and deepened range of expertise compared to the existing members of the AGFC.

In light of the above, as of 15 July 2022, an Advisory Group on Sustainability of Food Systems with a broader and deepened range of expertise will be established by DG SANTE to replace the existing Advisory Group on the food chain and animal and plant health upon the expiration of the current mandate on 14 July 2022.

On 12 January 2022, the Commission launched a call for the membership of the Advisory Group on Sustainability of Food Systems. The published call and more information are available on the Register of Commission expert groups and other similar entities (europa.eu) web page.

The deadline for the submission of applications was 10 February 2022.

More information on the new group and its membership can be found on the webpage of the Advisory Group on Sustainability of Food Systems.

Transparency

All relevant documents such as agendas, minutes, and working documents on the activities of the Advisory Group are publicly available.