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The minister of health is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing health-focused government agencies including Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, as well as enforcing the Canada Health Act, the law governing Canada's universal health care system.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of pharmaceutical products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products or European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA).
The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) is a committee of the European Parliament. It has 81 full members and is currently chaired by Pascal Canfin.
The Directorate-General for Research and Innovation is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, located in Brussels, and responsible for the European Union's research and innovation policy and coordination of research and innovation activities. Until her resign in May 2023, DG RTD was headed by Commissioner Mariya Gabriel and Director-General Marc Lemaître.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is an agency of the European Union (EU) whose mission is to strengthen Europe's defences against infectious diseases. It covers a wide spectrum of activities, such as: surveillance, epidemic intelligence, response, scientific advice, microbiology, preparedness, public health training, international relations, health communication, and the scientific journal Eurosurveillance. The centre was established in 2004 and is headquartered in Solna, Sweden.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) that provides independent scientific advice and communicates on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA was established in February 2002, is based in Parma, Italy, and for 2021 it has a budget of €118.6 million, and a total staff of 542.
The Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (Chafea) was an executive agency of the European Union, set up by the European Commission to manage four programmes on its behalf, in the domains of health, consumer protection, food safety, and the promotion of European agricultural products. From April 2021 on, these programmes were reassigned to other agencies, most notably the newly created Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA).
The Health Threat Unit of the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection, is responsible for terrorism surveillance and early warning of biological, chemical, and radiological threats within the European Union. The Health Threat Unit runs the Rapid Alert System, which conducts surveillance on communicable diseases and diseases caused by acts of bioterrorism. The surveillance data are coordinated and evaluated by the Health Emergency Operations Facility. Health threat information and warnings are sent to the member states by the Communication and Crisis Center (BICHAT) and the Security Office in Brussels, Belgium.
The Commissioner for Health and Food Safety is the member of the European Commission. The current Commissioner is Stella Kyriakides. The portfolio is responsible for matters of public health, food safety, animal health and plant health.
The Commissioner for Justice is a post in the European Commission. The portfolios of Justice and Equality were previously combined as Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality under commissioner is Věra Jourová; however, the two portfolios were split in 2019. Didier Reynders currently serves as Justice Commissioner and Helena Dalli serves as Equality Commissioner.
The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) is one of the independent scientific committees managed by the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection of the European Commission, which provide scientific advice to the Commission on issues related to consumer products.
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The Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) is one of the independent scientific committees managed by the Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection of the European Commission, which provide scientific advice to the Commission on issues related to consumer products.
The Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES), is a web-based veterinarian certification tool used by the European Union for controlling the import and export of live animals and animal products within and without its borders. Its network falls under the responsibility of the European Commission. TRACES constitutes a key element of how the European Union facilitates trade and improves health protection for the consumer, as laid down in the First Pillar principle. Other countries use computer networks to provide veterinary certification, but TRACES is the only supranational network working at a continental scale of 28 countries and almost 500 million people.
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The regulation of genetic engineering varies widely by country. Countries such as the United States, Canada, Lebanon and Egypt use substantial equivalence as the starting point when assessing safety, while many countries such as those in the European Union, Brazil and China authorize GMO cultivation on a case-by-case basis. Many countries allow the import of GM food with authorization, but either do not allow its cultivation or have provisions for cultivation, but no GM products are yet produced. Most countries that do not allow for GMO cultivation do permit research. Most (85%) of the world's GMO crops are grown in the Americas. One of the key issues concerning regulators is whether GM products should be labeled. Labeling of GMO products in the marketplace is required in 64 countries. Labeling can be mandatory up to a threshold GM content level or voluntary. A study investigating voluntary labeling in South Africa found that 31% of products labeled as GMO-free had a GM content above 1.0%. In Canada and the USA labeling of GM food is voluntary, while in Europe all food or feed which contains greater than 0.9% of approved GMOs must be labelled.
Xavier Prats Monné is a Spanish former high-ranking official of the European Commission, who served as Director-General of the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (2015–2018) and Director-General at the Directorate-General for Education and Culture (2014–2015).
The COVID-19 pandemic and its spread in Europe has had significant effects on some major EU members countries and on European Union institutions, especially in the areas of finance, civil liberties, and relations between member states.
References
- ↑ "Health and Food Safety". European Commission - European Commission. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
- ↑ "Health and Food Safety". European Commission - European Commission. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
- ↑ "Overview". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
