The European Commission revised the Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on food hygiene with the aim to improve food safety in the EU, by bringing EU standards into line with new international standards (WHO Codex system), ensure appropriate food safety measures are taken when food is donated for charitable causes and reduce food waste, as part of the European Green Deal.
On 3 March 2021 the Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/382 was adopted with the aim of amending the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council on the hygiene of foodstuffs as regards food allergen management, redistribution of food and food safety culture.
The amendments concern, in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the hygiene of foodstuffs, a new chapter on food redistribution that addresses how the ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates shall be applied in the context of food redistribution, while not jeopardising food safety and which aspects shall be taken into account when assessing food safety.
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (24 March 2021).
It is a Regulation, therefore a binding legilsative act. It must be applied in its entirety across the EU and Member States should modify their national legislation, if needed.
The Regulation is available in all EU languages here.
