Advice to consumers is to increase the amount of fish we eat, to guard against cardiovascular diseases. However, should consumers be concerned about the ethics of eating wild fish and is farmed fish a healthy choice?

Within Europe and across the globe, several official organisations have a remit which includes food safety and nutrition. These organisations publish policy documents, develop strategies, monitor food intake or health, and in some cases implement regulations. By their actions, they have the potential to influence the foods that consumers get access to or choose to eat.

Consumers may wonder, as they bite into a piece of fresh fruit or crunch on a vegetable, what extra “ingredients” they might be about to swallow. The latest report from the European Commission on pesticides and food should allay any concerns in the minds of those who appreciate the goodness in healthy, fresh produce. Meanwhile, EU policy makers are currently reviewing already strict rules on the use of pesticides in food production to ensure they are applied stringently.

In the seventies, food safety and hygiene legislation focused on the control of the end product to ensure that all the necessary safety and quality standards were met. However, to guarantee safe products, inspection only at the end of the production cycle was not good enough. This is why the current European legislation incorporates an active quality control system based on prevention throughout the entire food chain.

Theobroma cacao means food of the gods. It is also the botanical name for the cocoa tree, a much-revered crop for thousands of years. Satisfying the world's growing appetite for chocolate is an interesting case study in the development of sustainable agriculture.

This is a question asked frequently by consumers. Consumers often react to food scares by avoiding certain food products altogether although the actual risk is very low. Often, they are unaware of the complex systems, practices and procedures which exist throughout the food chain to assess and minimise health risks.

The safety and quality of food products are two concerns upmost in consumers' minds. In this summary from "From Farm to Fork" EUFIC's fact pack on food safety, we look at the way modern farming techniques aim to provide consumers with the high quality, safe food they expect.