Food for thought ... On food safety testing.

More than any other consumer product range, food represents an emotional issue with a strong cultural dimension. In a eurobarometer survey of 2002, 89% of the europeans interviewed considered food safety to be very important; interestingly 80% considered animal welfare to be very important in the same survey. Food also has an enormous economic impact on society, with the european food and drink industry boasting a turnover of about 600 billion € (i.e. 15% of the manufacturing output of europe) and 2.6 million employees (Holland and Pope, 2004). this still excludes the agricultural sector, which produces 220 billion € of products and provides 7.5 million people with jobs. In an often quoted speech made in 1962, John F. Kennedy declared consumer safety a fundamental right. Due to globalisation (roughly 50% of our food is nowadays imported) and condensation of the industry, in particular of food retailers, to a rather small number in recent years, an asymmetry of information with respect to the safety and control of food products has developed which requires international attention.