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Simplifying Food Safety Rules Across Europe
Published December 16, 2025
Goal: Simplify food safety
The EU Food & Feed Safety Simplification Proposal 2025 is a new regulation that cuts paperwork, speeds up approvals, and keeps safety high, saving money for businesses and farmers.
EU Food & Feed Safety Simplification Proposal (2025)
The European Commission proposes a new regulation that will amend ten existing EU rules on food and feed safety. The goal is to cut unnecessary paperwork, speed up approvals, and keep high protection for people, animals and the environment.
Key points
| Area | What will change | Numbers / dates |
|---|---|---|
| Biocontrol substances | Clear definition and faster approval for natural pest‑control products (micro‑organisms, semiochemicals, plant extracts). The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) can act as the “rapporteur” for these substances, giving them priority. | 2025 – 2028‑2034 |
| Active‑substance approvals | Most approvals will now be unlimited in time, except for substances that are “candidates for substitution” or have special safety concerns. Renewal will be automatic unless a new risk is found. | 2025 – 2028‑2034 |
| Plant protection products | Products that contain only biocontrol or low‑risk substances will be treated as one zone for approval, and mutual recognition will be automatic if a Member State does not decide within 120 days. Record‑keeping for farmers using these products will be removed. | 2025 – 2028‑2034 |
| Data protection | Test and study reports will have a single EU‑wide protection period (10 years, 13 years for certain products) instead of varying by country. | 2025 – 2028‑2034 |
| Maximum residue levels (MRLs) | For substances that are not approved in the EU but are very hazardous, MRLs can be set at the limit of quantification (essentially zero). Products that were on the market before a new MRL can stay on the market if they meet the old MRL. | 2025 – 2028‑2034 |
| Biocidal products | The review programme for existing active substances will be accelerated, and approvals will be unlimited unless they meet special safety criteria. Union authorisations will be published as decisions, not full regulations. | 2025 – 2028‑2034 |
| Fermentation products | Food and feed made with genetically modified microorganisms (GMMs) that are removed from the final product are no longer considered “produced from GMOs” if only non‑viable cells remain. | 2025 – 2028‑2034 |
| Feed additives | Authorisations will be for an unlimited period (except for certain antimicrobial additives). Digital labelling will be allowed for non‑safety information. | 2025 – 2028‑2034 |
| Hygiene rules | Notification of national measures will use a single, simpler procedure (Directive 2015/1535). | 2025 – 2028‑2034 |
| Depopulation reporting | The separate annual report on depopulation operations is removed; the existing official‑controls report is enough. | 2025 – 2028‑2034 |
| BSE (mad cow disease) | The regulation will be updated to match the latest World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) standards and EFSA opinions. | 2025 – 2028‑2034 |
| Border controls | Consignments of plant products can be split before full checks, speeding up trade. | 2025 – 2028‑2034 |
| Laboratory accreditation | EU and national reference labs can be accredited under similar standards (e.g., ISO/IEC 17025) or other comparable ones, reducing costs. | 2025 – 2028‑2034 |
Financial impact
- The proposal will cost the EU about €15 073 million from 2028 to 2034, mainly to give EFSA more staff and resources.
- Expected savings for industry and authorities are estimated at €335.6 million per year from 2027, rising to €93 million more per year from 2029.
- Administrative costs for authorities could drop by €661 million per year, totaling €4.6 billion over 2027‑2034.
Overall aim
The regulation seeks to make the EU’s food and feed safety rules simpler, faster and cheaper while keeping the same high level of protection for health and the environment. It will help farmers access safer, more sustainable pest‑control options and reduce the administrative burden on businesses and national authorities.
Licensing: The summaries on this page are available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
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