Robert Anton, Basil Mathioudakis, Suwijiyo Pramono, Ekrem Sezik, Surinder Sharma

European Food and Feed Law Review, Volume 14 (2019), Issue 2, Page 132 - 141

Botanicals are used worldwide in food and supplements for their nutritional and physiological effects and have become part of the local and regional cultural heritage. The use of botanicals has evolved from experience over a long period of time, often over centuries. Folk knowledge of this use has been passed on from generation to generation and later been systematically recorded. This information is collectively called ‘traditional use’ and is the largest body of observational evidence in humans available. It is recognised as a valid body of knowledge to support the safe use of botanicals and document their health benefits. This paper describes the experience on how traditional use is accepted as a basis for support of the safety and benefits for health of botanical preparations used in food supplements. It proposes a common basis for the mutual acceptance of the evidence as assessed by expert judgement that may lead to recognition of the safety and benefits of botanicals in different parts of the world. Keywords: Traditional use; botanicals; folk use; systematic use; conditions of use; physiological benefits; safety; food law; supplements.

Alberto Mancuso, Luca Nicolandi, Laura Cabedo Botella, Filippo Castoldi, Marco Jermini, Andreas Wunsch, Claudio Bompard, Luigi Pisanello

European Food and Feed Law Review, Volume 13 (2018), Issue 3, Page 220 - 232

Juanjuan Sun, Jasmin Buijs

European Food and Feed Law Review, Volume 13 (2018), Issue 6, Page 503 - 513

“Internet plus” has contributed to radical changes of food supplies and consumption patterns in China. This called for a need to fill the legislative-regulatory vacuum of online food business while promoting digital economic development. While the rise of large-scale platforms constitutes a challenge for such regulation, those platforms also bring about regulatory innovation by taking advantage of self-regulation and co-regulation.This paper analyses the role of online platforms and aims to provide an insight into the development of online food regulation in China, which may subsequently contribute to the establishment of common principles for online food regulation, in particular, and internet regulation, in general. Keywords: internet regulation; platform; online food; food safety; China.

Riccardo Berti, Mariagrazia Semprebon

European Food and Feed Law Review, Volume 13 (2018), Issue 6, Page 522 - 531

One of the pivotal issues on the horizon of the new Chinese Food Safety Law, adopted in 2015, is the traceability of food. This western concept (borrowed from EU law) has been introduced in China in the wake of food safety incidents, which undermined consumer confidence in domestic foods. Between audacious technological solutions (blockchain, rfid and QR-codes) and recurring problems (lack of databases, overlapping standards, poor administrative coordination, among others) this issue is not only interesting for its peculiar traits in the PRC, but also because it involves both ruling and technology, linked amid them, in China, by several technical standards (guobiao). While Xi Jinping urges for strict food safety measures, the implementation of a comprehensive food traceability system is a long and costly process, which involves local administrative levels (traditionally a weak point in Chinese law enforcement, biased by local protectionism) and the active participation of the private sector that, like in environmental law, gains importance as a supporter and aggregator of consumer needs. This study examines several technical standards and their relationship with the relevant laws in the subject, providing then examples of FTS implementation at local level and covering the normative basis for the most interesting technological solutions tested in China.