Thanks to the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) many food safety risks have been averted or mitigated and safety controls ensure our food is safe, according to the European Commission. The results drawn from the RASFF 2011 report shows that in 2011 9157 notifications in RASFF related to non-compliances with EU food legislation were reported, of which 617 concerned serious risks.

The latest RASFF report published shows that this system plays a key role in ensuring safety from "farm to fork", by triggering a rapid reaction when a food safety risk is detected. According to the report, one of the particular successes was the strengthening of safety checks at EU borders. Almost half of the notifications related to food and feed rejected at EU borders. The 2010 report noted that the number of notifications in RASFF rose to 8582.

Out of the 3812 new notifications (most of the notifications were follow-ups: 5345) 3139 concerned food, 361 concerned feed and 312 concerned food contact materials. Some of the most reported issues were aflatoxins in feed, dried fruits and nuts and migration of chemical substances from kitchen utensils from China.

All members of the RASFF system are swiftly informed of serious risks found in food or feed so that together they can react to food safety threats in a coordinated way to protect the health of EU citizens. When a serious and persistent problem is detected, the country in question is asked by the Commission to apply urgent corrective measures such as delisting establishments, blocking exports or intensifying controls.