Section 5Sec./Art. 5

Food Safety Requirements. To ensure food safety, the following general guidelines shall be observed:

(a) In determining whether food is unsafe, the following shall be considered:

(1) The normal conditions of the use of food by the consumer;

(2) The normal conditions maintained at each stage of primary production, processing, handling, storage and distribution;

(3) The health of plants and animals from where the food is derived;

(4) The effect of feeds, crop protection chemicals and other production inputs on otherwise healthy plants and animals; and

(5) The information provided to the consumer. This includes the information provided on the label or any information generally available to the consumer. This should aid consumers in avoiding specific health effects from a particular food or category of foods.

(b) In determining whether food is injurious to health, regard shall be given to the following:

(1) The probable immediate, short-term or long-term effects on subsequent generations of that food on health;

(2) The probable cumulative effects; and

(3) The particular health sensitivities of a specific category of consumers where the food is intended for that category.

(c) In determining whether food is unfit for human consumption, regard shall be given to the unacceptability of the food according to its intended use due to contamination by extraneous matter or through putrefaction, deterioration or decay;

(d) Where unsafe food is part of a batch, lot or consignment of food of the same class or description, it shall he presumed that all food in that hatch, lot or consignment is also unsafe;

(e) Food that complies with specific national law or regulations governing food safety shall be deemed safe insofar as the aspects covered by national law and regulations are concerned. However, imported food that is declared unsafe by the competent authority of the exporting country after entry into the country shall be withdrawn from the market and distribution channels; and

(f) Compliance of a food product with specific standards applicable to a specific food shall not prohibit the competent authorities to take appropriate measures or to impose restrictions on entry into the market or to require its withdrawal from the market, where there is reason to suspect that such food product shows food safety related risks.

ARTICLE IV

GENERAL PRINCIPLES