Belgian food agency forced to cut costs: food safety under pressure?

The Belgian government wants to cut the budget of the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) by almost a quarter. This has led to a lot of negative reactions from the food sector.

“Government is organizing the next food crisis”

Quite a few stakeholders are concerned about the government’s decision to cut the FASFC’s budget by 24% by 2029. This year, the savings are expected to amount to 13%. Where and how these savings will be made is not yet clear. The food agency was established after the dioxin crisis to monitor food safety in Belgium in a structural and proactive manner. Various interest groups in the food sector fear that this strong system, which enjoys a high level of trust, is now under threat.

Consumer organization Testachats points out that the agency has already lost more than €36 million in funding since 2014 and is calling for the decision to be reversed in the interests of public health. The timing is also unfortunate, as the European Commission’s Mercosur agreement stipulates that there will be increased controls on South American imports: “If the Agency’s limited resources are allocated to these increased import controls, this will inevitably be at the expense of national controls in supermarkets, restaurants, and at producers,” says Laura Clays, spokesperson. “The government is therefore single-handedly organizing the next food crisis.”

“Step back in time”

According to the Farmers’ Union, the decision is also at odds with the announcement earlier this week that controls on imported products from Mercosur countries would be stepped up if necessary. “The FASFC’s food safety controls are not only crucial for imported products, but also when it comes to the export of our agricultural products in the event of sanitary pressure, such as with pork, the FASFC is an important factor,” says the organization.

Fevia, the federation of Belgian food companies, is surprised: “These savings are in addition to the savings already made in recent years, which have already led to a rationalization of the FAVV’s operations, while safeguarding the Agency’s basic tasks. However, these new savings now threaten to undermine the FAVV’s basic mission. Fevia wishes to emphasize that public health must not be compromised and that Belgian consumers must be optimally protected in terms of food safety.”

“We are taking a step back in time, and that is unacceptable,” agree Unizo and Horeca Vlaanderen. “If we continue to make savings, we will push the FASFC back to the old system of retrospective control. That will result in more paperwork, more discussion and, above all, more mistakes, without making our food any safer.”