EU Health and Food Safety

Our colleague Koen Van Dyck was live on Euronews last night, talking about the Commission’s vital work to fight against food fraud.   Food fraud not only poses a risk to human and animal health; it also costs billions of Euros in lost revenue every year. And it undermines Europe’s honest food producers and operators.   🔎In the latest episode of The Food Detectives, Koen explained just how serious, complex and far-reaching food fraud can be – and how active the Commission is in protecting citizens against this risk.   The Commission is central to monitoring and analysing food fraud risks across the EU - alerting Member States and industry to suspected cases. Our Monthly Report compiles the results of national agri-food fraud controls, to provide a truly EU-wide overview of the situation. This really helps Member States and industry to close gaps, address vulnerabilities and strengthen their anti-fraud measures.   Excitingly, we are also now using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve our ability to detect fraud patterns. TraceMap is a powerful new initiative to assist Member States with their early warning capabilities and decisions on enforcement actions.   Want to find out more about our work in this area? 👉 Check out our website, where you’ll also find all our Monthly Reports https://lnkd.in/dub8Wuhe

🚀 Today the Commission is taking an important step toward reinforcing health security across the EU: the Union prevention, preparedness and response plan has just been launched! We live in uncertain times with threats that could trigger cross-border health crises at any time. We need to be prepared. The Plan, which will work as a toolbox, will support the Members States in efficiently coordinating their actions during cross-border health emergencies, every step of the way: 🛡️ Prevention & preparedness: helping plan health system resilience and medical countermeasures. 🔍 Detection & assessment: enabling national and EU-level surveillance and risk assessments. 🎯 Response: coordinated action across the EU through deployment of capacities and resources. 🛠️ Recovery: Lessons learned and rebuilding across the EU. The Plan is built to continuously evolve – just as our environment keeps evolving – be regularly updated, tested and adapted to new health challenges – so it can effectively protect our citizens’ health across the EU. When we act together, we have the power to save lives and continue building our strong #HealthUnion. 🔗 Learn more : https://lnkd.in/gc6WB2Dg

📣 Important announcement for the Medical Devices sector 📣   The first four modules of EUDAMED: Actors, UDI/Devices, Notified Bodies & Certificates and Market Surveillance will be mandatory to use as from 28 May 2026.   In practice this means that manufacturers, system and procedure pack producers, importers and authorised representatives will have six months as from today to comply with the registration obligations.   This will benefit the sector in several key ways: ✅ One-stop-shop to register devices, systems and procedure packs and certificates across the EU ✅ Single Registration Number (SRN) issued by the competent national authority ✅ Reduced administrative burden ✅ Increased transparency ✅ Better traceability of medical devices ✅ Strengthened market surveillance   ‼️Act early, don’t wait !   Find out more here: 🔗https://lnkd.in/erc2Gz2f #HealthUnion 

📢 Happening today! Tune in at 10.30 CET for the plenary meeting of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste.   Listen to our international partners and key stakeholders discuss the progress made so far in tackling food waste – and what more can be done at EU and global level.   The morning session will bring in updates from UN Environment Programme, FAO, OECD - OCDE and the Thünen Institute on their food waste reduction projects.   This afternoon, the discussion will focus on the revised Food Waste Framework Directive, followed by an update from DG EMPL, EU Employment and Skills, on the European Social Fund Plus and an update from the Member States on their progress in food waste reduction. There will also be an update on Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe Projects. 🔴Tune in and watch live here: 🔗https://lnkd.in/e-jxJ693   Full agenda: 🔗https://lnkd.in/eRdR6EQv #FoodWasteEU

🐶😺Whether you are a dog or a cat person, this news is for you! Today we welcomed political agreement on new EU welfare rules for dogs and cats!   These rules will be a game-changer in how these pets are treated when bred, sold or adopted across the EU.   Some key aspects of the new rules 👇 🐾 Protection: uniform welfare standards for breeding, housing and care of dogs and cats in professional establishments – such as pet shops or shelters.   🐾 Care: Animal caretakers will need to have sufficient competence to look after these pets. Member States will have to offer specific training on this.   🐾 Transparency: Microchipping and registration in inter-operable national databases will be required for all dogs and cats. This will help fight illegal trade and clamp down on puppy mills.   🐾 Verification: prospective buyers will be protected from fraudulent online advertisements through a new verification system for online ads.   Find out more here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/etnFUsnu   #EU4DogsAndCats #EU4AnimalWelfare

🆕 #EU4Health interim evaluation report is out! With a budget of €4.6 billion over the 2021-2027 period, EU4Health has been key in building a strong #HealthUnion.   The report published today shows that the Programme is on track to achieving its objectives. This includes significant progress in key target areas such as crisis preparedness and response, health promotion and disease prevention, cancer and rare diseases.   In figures, the success of #EU4Health so far equates to: 🔸726 contracts signed with partners such as: health ministries; national, regional and other public authorities; healthcare and health research organisations; and non-profit and private entities; 🔸22 countries’ authorities working together; 🔸499 organisations collaborating in joint actions across European countries.   Find out more here: 🔗https://lnkd.in/ePtNxWkf

The flu season is here🤧. Most people usually recover quickly from influenza but this is not true for everybody. Some, like older people or small children, might suffer from serious complications. The Health Security Committee (HSC) members are meeting today to discuss the current epidemiological situation of respiratory diseases, focusing on seasonal influenza. Annual vaccination remains one of our strongest tools to protect ourselves and those around us from the risks posed by the flu. Find out more here: 🔗https://lnkd.in/ew6jnN_W   #UnitedInProtection  

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing concern threatening human health, as antibiotics become less effective over time. #AMR is already the cause of over a million deaths each year and this number is expected to increase unless we take action. Proactive measures are needed to safeguard vital antimicrobial medicines, so that they continue to work for us and future generations. Discover how projects and initiatives funded under the #EU4Health programme are tackling AMR: https://lnkd.in/dbFGqhgr

The World AMR Awareness Week continues with a high-level event organized by the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU 2025 DG SANTE One Health Director, Roser Domenech Amado today explained what the EU is doing to tackle the #AMR public health threat. She underlined that we need to step up our efforts if we want to meet our 2030 targets on antimicrobial consumption and resistance. 📣 We will keep supporting our Member States in strengthening their national action plans on surveillance & monitoring, prudent use of antimicrobials and AMR awareness raising. 💡 We will ensure best practices are known and shared, and that decisions taken on the basis of the best scientific work by our agencies. 💊 Innovative antibiotics will be on the market, thanks to the revision of our pharma legislation and to our research and development funding. And much more....! The European Commission will continue to lead, coordinate and support, every step of the way, in the fight against AMR. #OneHealth EU-JAMRAI