Certified food safety at source

In two years' time, the European commission in Brussels plans to introduce a new directive on food safety, which will put the responsibility for guaranteeing meat safety in the hands of the animal food chain. Professor Frans van Knapen has pushed for the change during the last 20 years and sees it as an opportunity for the industry to prioritise its production skills and shake off extreme political and welfare influences. For producers and veterinarians, he says the future lies in concentrating on the original objective of veterinary medicine - to protect public health.