The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (AFSCA) is not being thorough enough in its food safety controls, a report by the European Commission showed.
The report looked at nine food companies working with additives —such as flavour enhancers and food colourants— and found that even though some products contained high quantities of additives, they had not been detected by AFSCA's safety checks.
Additives, or food improvement agents, are considered safe for human consumption as long as producers respect certain quantity limits.
The report, published in 2018, found that a meat packing company had used an unauthorized additive in one of its meat products, but that the product had still made it into the Belgian market.
On Thursday, AFSCA reacted to the Commission's report, saying that the EU's food regulations were "too complex."
"We ask that the Commission clarify these rules," the AFSCA said, according to RTBF.
The federal agency's reaction to the report comes after it issued a recall for five different types of chicken-based products over fears they were contaminated with Listeria.
The Brussels Times
