Table Of ContentFood Safety Standards in
International Trade
Food safety has become a major concern for consumers in the developed world
and Europe in particular. This has been highlighted by the recent spate of food
scares ranging from the BSE (mad cow) crisis to Chinese melamine contamination
of baby formula. To ensure food safety throughout Europe, stringent food safety
standards have been put in place ‘from farm to fork’. At the same time, poor
African countries in the COMESA rely on their food exports to the European
market to achieve their development goals yet have diffi culty meeting the EU
food safety standards. This book examines the impact of EU food safety stan-
dards on food imports from COMESA countries. It also critically examines both
EU and COMESA food safety standards in light of the WTO SPS Agreement
and the jurisprudence of the WTO panels and Appellate Body. The book makes
ground-breaking proposals on how the standards divide between the EU and the
COMESA can be bridged and discusses the impact of EU food safety standards
on food imports from poor African countries.
Onsando Osiemo is a legal practitioner and researcher in Nairobi, Kenya. He
obtained his PhD in law from the University of Amsterdam. His areas of research
are in international trade law and regional integration in Europe and Africa.
‘The author deftly exposes current problems with safety standards in food exports
from Africa to Europe from a legal perspective, with sensitivity and insight. This
book delivers original solutions to these important social challenges and is an
invaluable resource for African and European policy makers, academics and the
socially concerned’.
Dr Kamala Dawar, University of Sussex, UK
‘Dr Osiemo has delivered an important and timely study of the comparable
impacts of food safety standards in the context of regional trade arrangements:
of particular note is his contribution to the debate about such standards in the
context of Southern and Eastern Africa’.
Professor Mary Footer, University of Nottingham, School of Law, UK
Food Safety Standards in
International Trade
The case of the EU and the COMESA
Onsando Osiemo
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Onsando Osiemo
The right of Onsando Osiemo to be identifi ed as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
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Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Osiemo, Onsando, author.
Title: Food safety standards in international trade : the case of the EU
and the COMESA / Onsando Osiemo.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2016. |
Includes index. | Based on author’s thesis (doctoral - Universiteit van
Amsterdam, 2012) issued under title: Harmonization of sanitary and
phytosanitary standards in international trade : the case of the EU
and the COMESA.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2016013505 (print) | LCCN 2016014012 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781138694125 (hbk) | ISBN 9781315526614 (e-book) |
ISBN 9781315526607 (Web PDF) | ISBN 9781315526591 (ePub) |
ISBN 9781315526584 (Mobipocket)
Subjects: LCSH: Food law and legislation. | Foreign trade regulation. |
Food law and legislation—European Union countries. | Food law and
legislation—Africa. | Non-tariff trade barriers—Law and legislation—
European Union countries. | European Union countries—Foreign
economic relations—Africa. | Africa—Foreign economic relations—
European Union countries. | European Union. | Common Market for
Eastern and Southern Africa. | Agreement on the Application of
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (1995 January 1)
Classifi cation: LCC K3626 .O839 2016 (print) | LCC K3626 (ebook) |
DDC 344.04/232—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016013505
ISBN: 978-1-13-869412-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-31-552661-4 (ebk)
Typeset in Galliard
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
List of abbreviations viii
Table of cases xi
Introduction 1
I.1 Introduction 1
I.2 Why SPS standards? 4
I.3 Why the EU and the COMESA? 6
I.4 Objectives and scope 7
I.5 Plan of this book 8
1 SPS standards under the WTO SPS Agreement 10
1.1 Introduction 10
1.2 The signifi cance of SPS standards 17
1.3 The WTO SPS Agreement 28
1.4 Harmonisation of SPS standards 37
1.5 Provisions for developing countries under the SPS Agreement 41
1.6 Chapter discussion and conclusions 46
2 EU food safety standards 60
2.1 Introduction 60
2.2 Regulation 178 of 2002 63
2.3 The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) 65
2.4 A critical overview of the EU food safety policy and standards 69
2.5 Global administrative and constitutional law perspectives 94
2.6 Chapter discussion and conclusions 96
3 COMESA food safety standards 101
3.1 Introduction 101
3.2 An overview of the COMESA 102
vi Contents
3.3 SPS policies and regulations in the COMESA 111
3.4 Chapter discussion and conclusions 122
4 Case studies in food safety standards in
EU–COMESA trade 127
4.1 Introduction 127
4.2 The two schools of thought on the impact of food safety
standards on trade 130
4.3 COMESA trade concerns with EU food safety regulations
in beef, fi shery, and horticultural products 137
4.4 Private voluntary standards (PVS) and EU food
safety standards 151
4.5 Chapter discussion and conclusions 163
5 Towards a model for co-operation in food safety
standards in EU–COMESA trade 168
5.1 Introduction 168
5.2 Tools for upgrading COMESA national food safety
control systems 171
5.3 The COMESA food control system (CFCS) 196
5.4 Towards an EU–COMESA food control system 206
5.5 The EU–COMESA food control system (ECFCS) 212
5.6 Chapter discussion and conclusions 214
6 Conclusions 218
6.1 Introduction 218
6.2 The SPS Agreement 219
6.3 EU food safety standards 221
6.4 COMESA food safety standards 223
6.5 A food control system for EU–COMESA food products trade 225
6.6 Final remarks 226
Index 229
Acknowledgements
I am greatly indebted to professors P J Kuijper and J H Mathis of the University
of Amsterdam faculty of law for their support and input in writing this book.
I am most grateful to Alison Kirk, Routledge’s Senior Commissioning Editor,
for her support in bringing the book to life. My gratitude is also extended to the
editor and anonymous reviewers of the book.
Abbreviations
AFSA African Food Safety Authority
ALOP appropriate level of protection
AMPRIP A gricultural Marketing Promotion and Regional Integration
Project
ARSO African Organization for Standardization
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations
AU African Union
AU-IBAR African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources
BRC British Retail Consortium Global Standard for Food Safety
BSE Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme
CARICOM Caribbean Community
CBA Cost Benefi t Analysis
CFCS COMESA Food Control System
CFSA COMESA Food Safety Authority
CGP COMESA Green Pass
CJ Court of Justice of the EU
Codex Codex Alimentarius Commission
COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
CPA Cotonou Partnership Agreement
CRO common regulatory objectives
DG SANCO Directorate-General on Consumer Policy and Consumer
Health
DSB Dispute Settlement Body
DSU U nderstanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the
Settlement of Disputes
EAC East African Community
EBA Everything But Arms
EC European Community
ECFCS EU–COMESA Food Control System
ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States
EFSA European Food Safety Authority
EFTA European Free Trade Association
Abbreviations ix
EPA Economic Partnership Agreement
EU European Union
EURL EU reference laboratories
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
FMD Foot-and-Mouth disease
FVO food and veterinary offi ce
GAL Global Administration Law
GAP good agriculture practices
GATT 47 General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade 1947
GATT 94 General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade 1994
GC General Court of the EU
GDP gross domestic product
GHP good hygiene practices
GlobalGAP Global Good Agricultural Practices
GMO genetically modifi ed organism
GMP good manufacturing practices
HACCP hazard analysis critical control point
IA impact assessment
IEC International Electro-technical Commission
IGAD Intergovernmental Authority for Development
IILJ Institute for International Law and Justice
IPPC International Plant Protection Convention
IRPA Institute for Research on Public Administration
ISO International Standardization Organization
JFCC Joint Food Control Committee
JSC Joint Scientifi c Committee
LDC Least Developed Countries
LOD lower limit of determination
MEA Multilateral Environmental Agreements
MERCOSUR South American Regional Economic Organization
MRL maximum residue level
NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement
NGOs non-governmental organisations
NRL national reference laboratories
nvCJD new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
OIE World Organization for Animal Health
PCE Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation
PPPP public-private partnerships Protection
PTA preferential trade area
PVS private voluntary standards
RASFF Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed
RIA regulatory impact assessment
RSP reference to standards principle
