16.07.2025. (Caucasian Journal) Given the current crucial period for Georgia's EU aspirations, our journal wants to help keep the public informed about what EU candidacy and integration really mean. One important topic that doesn’t get enough coverage is the EU’s food safety regulations. Today, we delve into the world of food regulation with our distinguished expert, Dr. Kai PURNHAGEN (Germany).
▶ ქართულად: The Georgian version is here.
Alexander KAFFKA, editor-in-chief of Caucasian Journal: Dear Dr. Purnhagen, thank you for joining us. Let me start with a simple question, one that many citizens in an EU candidate country might ask: Will my food quality significantly improve or be better protected once our country enters the EU?
Kai PURNHAGEN: Thank you very much for having me, it’s a great privilege for me. I do not know enough about the Georgian food system to meaningfully answer your question. But what I do know is that the EU has the most rigorous agri-food legal system when it comes to food safety. It is very likely that on these terms, Georgian food will improve. Whether this will also have an impact on food prices will largely depend on how well the Georgian competition enforcement authorities will work. We have observed that in EU countries, where enforcement of competition laws functions effectively, food prices have remained relatively low compared to food safety and quality.
In EU countries, where enforcement of competition laws functions effectively, food prices have remained relatively low compared to food safety and quality.
AK: What are the most noticeable changes the average person should expect regarding food during the accession period and after full integration into the European Union?
KP: Aligning Georgian food regulations with the EU market will likely increase variety and availability of safe foods. Some foods may vanish as they will not be in line with EU regulations. We have seen in the past in some countries of Central and Eastern Europe that after accession, there has been a strong boost in capitalist thinking and the opportunities arising once the market opened to the EU. While this is understandable, this often also led to distributional problems. The wealth gains have not been distributed equally across the country, and traditional foods, which are very important for the country’s cultural image, were seriously under pressure. It is essential that Georgia not only opens its market but also rigorously enforces effective price competition and consumer protection rules right from the start, to avoid prices eventually rising to a point where Georgian consumers will be financially challenged, and only a few will benefit from open markets. But it’s important to note that this is in the hands of Georgia to make these opportunities a success.
It is essential that Georgia not only opens its market but also rigorously enforces effective price competition and consumer protection rules right from the start, to avoid prices eventually rising to a point where Georgian consumers will be financially challenged.
AK: Which European food regulations do you consider the most important or impactful for the average person's daily life?
KP: This is an extraordinarily difficult question to answer, as many legal acts act together in the EU to safeguard safe food supply chains. As the agri-food market is heavily regulated in the EU, each regulation will to some extent have an impact on citizens’ lives. If I had to single out some acts, I would probably mention the General Food Law, the Food Information Regulation, and the Common Agricultural Policy. These are horizontal acts that apply to the whole food market. The General Food Law, for example, requires that administrations, regulators, and businesses base all regulatory decisions on available scientific evidence, which has the potential to tackle corruption and really protect consumers where it matters most.
The EU wine laws are in urgent need of reform to cope with climate change challenges, but the sector is rather hostile to changes.
AK: Now, turning to producers and retailers, what are the most significant regulations affecting their operations? Perhaps you may also talk about the regulations affecting countries with a similar profile to ours, where winemaking is vital.
KP: The EU food regulations do not really distinguish between acts for business and acts for consumers. Roughly speaking, one could say that in food law, most acts benefit consumers, while the compliance and enforcement obligations rest with food business operators. The regulatory decision is to place the major compliance and enforcement obligation of EU food safety law with food business operators (and not with the authorities), which will likely have the largest impact on Georgian food businesses. When it comes to agriculture, and looking at the wine-making industry, I would foresee that pesticides, organic, and regulations concerning territory and labelling will probably have the biggest impact. I am unsure how far Georgian wine-makers already comply with EU regulations for matters of trade with the EU. If they don’t, I would expect significant changes in this respect, sadly not necessarily for the better. EU wine laws are in urgent need of reform to cope with climate change challenges, but the sector is rather hostile to changes. Here, I would see an opportunity for Georgia to try to negotiate more flexibility when joining the EU. Maybe the EU will then also use Georgia’s “push” to rethink its own wine regulations.
It has been observed that even after accession, food safety in the new member states that have joined the EU since 2004 remained lower compared to the older EU Member States.
AK: Is there any available data or research on how food quality typically changes in countries undergoing this integration process?
KP: It is hard to measure food “quality” as different indicators are used. Most widely used is nutritional information, but many other criteria are important for consumers. In general, quality means different things to different people. In terms of food trade, measured by trade balance, and food safety, understood as fewer foodborne diseases or other food-related health issues, significant changes can be observed. For all countries entering the EU an increase in trade balance was observed, which has been attributed to higher food consumption and food exports resulting from accession. Foodborne illnesses have decreased on balance, however not significantly. In addition, it has been observed that even after accession, food safety in the new member states that have joined the EU since 2004 has remained lower compared to the older EU Member States. In addition, non-communicable diseases such as obesity rates have remained a problem, particularly among the Central and Eastern European Member States.
Studies show that prices on average decreased in most countries after accession, however, to a different degree and with exceptions.
AK: Do these changes generally lead to an increase or decrease in food prices for consumers?
KP: Studies show that prices on average decreased in most countries after accession, however, to a different degree and with exceptions. While foods got much more affordable in Bulgaria, the effects in Romania were not so significant, but measurable. At the same time, food consumption and, accordingly, household spending increased in some countries, most significantly in the Czech Republic. However, in countries such as Slovakia, where food chains are costly due to a lack of functioning competition (potentially due to ineffective competition and consumer law enforcement), food prices have been rising disproportionately when compared with other Member States. Still, food choices have improved substantially.
AK: Are there cases where some well-known traditional products might simply disappear from food shelves due to EU regulations?
KP: This is certainly to be feared. One way of preventing this from happening is to negotiate certain legislative acts upon accession requirements. It is not unusual for countries to negotiate some special treatments for agricultural or foodstuffs that are of significance to their domestic market. Special regulations on olive oil exist, for example, to safeguard both Greece’s and Italy’s traditional oil production. However, the EU will not make exemptions on their safety requirements. But this should also be in line with Georgian consumers’ demand to not be subject to disproportionately unsafe foods.
AK: What happens if a nation's traditional methods of food production contradict European regulatory norms? How are such situations typically resolved?
KP: If these production methods result in unsafe foods, then these methods have to be adopted to comply with EU standards. Again, there is no compromise on safe food production and marketing. That will indeed result in the fact that some food business operators may not be able to participate in the market any longer, at least not without scaling up to cover the higher costs involved with regulatory compliance.
There is no reason why the EU should interfere with traditions, as long as these products are safe.
AK: How do European food standards or other laws regulate independent farmer markets? For instance, will fresh, unpackaged dairy or eggs still be permitted for sale?
KP: Of course, the EU does not foresee any general authorization procedure for foods etc. There is no reason why the EU should interfere with traditions, as long as these products are safe. Quite the contrary, EU food law privileges fresh produce markets over other markets. In order to facilitate trade via fresh produce markets, the EU foresees a lot of exemptions from food regulation, taking into account the special nature of these. For example, non-prepackaged food or food involving only one ingredient are not subject to most labelling requirements.
AK: In your view, is there any important food regulation currently missing in Europe that you would advocate for enacting?
KP: In the way that many regulations are too strict, yes. We should ask ourselves which of these regulations are really needed, given the massive challenges that lie ahead of us in terms of coping with climate change and feeding the world. If you would like to hear a concrete example, I would certainly mention the enabling of regulatory sandboxes, where new foods can be tested with relaxed regulatory requirements. Taking the special situation of Georgia into account, the EU should certainly also look into its wine regulations and determine if they are fit for making the wine market future-proof.
AK: A special question from my wife, if you permit: We observe a lot of highly aggressive marketing of "junk food" towards children – soft drinks, fast food, sugary sweets, etc. Are there any advantages consumers gain after their country integrates with the EU, perhaps stricter protection or at least more informative labeling regarding such products?
KP: Say hi to your wife 😊. Definitely! According to EU law, all food information must not be misleading. Whether a product is misleading is measured against the consumer group that is targeted by the information, so if it is kids, they are subject to special protection. Furthermore, the EU law prohibits any health and nutrition claims on foods targeted towards children. But again, it depends on how severely the EU laws will be enforced in Georgia, which is to a certain degree the role of competition authorities.
AK: Thank you very much!
Read the Georgian language version here.
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