I. Introduction The basic principle of EU food law has remained unchanged by Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002: Any food operator is free to produce and sell foodstuffs in the EU without prior permission – provided the foodstuffs are safe1. Whether a foodstuff is safe must primarily be judged by the food operators themselves as Art. 17 (1) and Art. 19 (1) Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 clearly point out. However, the European legislator introduces an ev