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Room 515B, Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6NH |
To Interested Parties (list available on request)
1 May 2001
Any comments or views should be sent to:
John Caseley
FAC Secretariat
515C Aviation House
125 Kingsway
LONDON WC2B 6NH
Or by e-mail to - fac@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
Enquiries related to the contents of this letter can be sent or e-mailed to the addresses above or can be made by telephoning 020 7276 8591.
The closing date for comments is 29 June 2001.
Dear Sir/Madam
DISTANCE SELLING: SALES OF FOOD AND ANIMAL FEED VIA THE INTERNET OR BY MAIL ORDER
1. The Food Advisory Committee (FAC) has been commissioned by the Food Standards Agency to examine issues relating to the sale of food and animal feed by mail order or via the Internet. As a first step, the Committee would like to gather views from interested parties on any problems or potential problems that might be associated with distance selling. Some further background to the issue is set out below. You are invited to submit any views or comments to the address given above by 29 June 2001.
BACKGROUND
This issue has been referred to the FAC by the Board of the Food Standards Agency. The terms of reference for this study are:
‘To review the extent to which recent developments in food/feed purchases over the Internet may have created extra problems not associated with traditional forms of retail sale. The Committee is asked in particular to consider the implications for advertising and labelling of products.
The Committee is asked to advise the Board of:
- any areas where current controls are insufficient;
- any advice or guidance that should be given to consumers purchasing
goods in this way;
- guidance on how local authorities might check on the legality of Internet
sales; and
- any recommendations of best practice for Industry.
KEY AREAS OF CONCERN
Distance selling of food has taken place for many years (e.g. mail order food hampers), but there has been a significant increase with the advent of Internet sales and home shopping. There has also been more cross border trade, both within the EU and internationally. This has triggered changes in the volume and scale of distance selling. These changes have undoubted benefits for some consumers and the FAC wishes to establish whether any new issues have been raised from a food safety/consumer protection point of view.
Comments are welcome on any aspects of distance selling which have ultimate implications for consumers. The following key areas of concern have been identified and may prove a useful focus for responses:
UK regulations
Under UK and EU law items such as novel foods, food additives and feed additives must be specifically authorised before they can be marketed. Similarly there are strict controls on various contaminants in food and feed. Is there any evidence that, with increased access to world markets, illegal food products are being purchased from foreign suppliers, perhaps unwittingly?
Consumer information
There are extensive labelling requirements for both human food and animal feed. Websites often do not provide all the labelling information that would be available to customers before they purchased the same products from a shop. Do Internet and mail order customers need to be provided with the same information as when making a ‘physical’ purchase?
Deterioration during transit
Are there adequate safeguards concerning the microbiological safety of foods delivered by mail or by courier?
Claims
Claims made in advertising material on websites based outside the UK are not controlled by UK law. Is there evidence of consumers being mislead by claims on items such as dietary supplements bought from non-UK suppliers?
Enforcement
What particular difficulties do these methods of purchase present to enforcement authorities?
The FAC will discuss responses received as a result of this consultation at its meeting on 26 July. A list of the interested parties to whom this letter is being sent is available on request. The letter and the list of recipients are both available on the Food Standards Agency’s web site.
It is normal practice that all responses to consultations are made publicly available. Please make explicitly clear if you wish your response to be kept confidential. We will put a summary of the responses on our web site, and a copy will be sent to all respondents.
Yours sincerely
Dr Sandy Lawrie
FAC Secretary