Private food standards in the EU

Contains fulltext : 194101pub.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) The global system of food regulation has grown into a complex arrangement of various laws and standards on different governmental levels. These laws and standards are increasingly of a transnational nature. Currently most food laws within the Members States of the European Union are based on EU law. Next to governments private actors also increasingly engage in food regula-tion. In particular, corporate retailers and multinational food manufacturers have initiated and promoted private food safety standards. The structure of private standards and the complex relationship of these private standards with governmental legislation in the EU is the subject of this paper.