Food Control and Sustainable Practice

All food and food products intended for the consumer are subject to legal control. Over the years there has been a considerable amount of legislation in the form of Acts of Parliament and Regulations to ensure that food is safe, produced hygienically, is clearly described by label information and gives enough information to enable consumers to make informed choices. Currently there are proposals to improve the information given on labels to give consumers information about 'healthy eating'. Considerable efforts have been made to ensure that food legislation is consistent across the European Union. This has been achieved by requiring all Member States to adopt European regulations or to adopt specific Directives. Legislation provides an environment of ?official control? which is enforced by local authorities. Besides ?official control?, food producers, processors, and caterers have developed a wide range of codes of practice and guidelines to ensure food is produced, distributed and sold to the highest standards of quality. These codes and guidelines reflect Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) developed over many years and describe requirements for chemical composition, personal hygiene, machinery, temperature control and packaging. The requirements for food control extend beyond the factory and the industrial kitchen to the retailers and ensure that food is produced to high standards of quality and safety throughout the food chain. Sustainability in relation to food production and supply has a significant impact on the Food Industry and can be used to demonstrate the multi-facet of food control.