Glossary


All definitions belong to Wikipedia except when mentioned otherwise.



Acquis: this term is used in European Union law to refer to the total body of EU law accumulated thus far.

Aflatoxins: naturally occurring mycotoxins that are produced by many species of Aspergillus, a fungus, most notably Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus . Aflatoxins are toxic and carcinogenic.

Bio-accumulation: accumulation of a substance in a biological system e.g. the human body.

BSE: bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease.

Carcinogenic: causing or tending to cause cancer.

DG: the staff of the main EU institutions (Commission, Council and Parliament) are organised into a number of distinct departments, known as “Directorates-General” (DGs), each of which is responsible for specific tasks or policy areas. The administrative head of a DG is known as the 'Director-General' (a term sometimes also abbreviated to 'DG'). http://europa.eu/abc/eurojargon/index_en.htm

DG SANCO: Health & Consumer Protection DG

Dioxins: any of several toxic or carcinogenic hydrocarbons that occur as impurities in herbicides.

GMO: genetically modified organisms whose genetic material have been altered using techniques in genetics generally known as recombinant DNA technology. The term GM foods or GMOs is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content.

Harmonisation: in international law, the process by which different states adopt the same laws.

Hazard: A biological, chemical or physical agent in food (or condition of food) with the potential to cause and adverse health effect. www.wordreference.com

Mycotoxins: toxins produced by fungus. Mycotoxins can appear in food and animal feed as a result of fungal infection of the crop, for example in cereals, or the infection of stored products. www.wordreference.com

Risk Analysis: The concept of Risk Analysis was introduced as a systematic way to fully assess risks; it comprises three components: risk assessment, risk management and risk communication.

- Risk Assessment: this is a scientifically based process consisting of the following steps: hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment, and risk characterization.

- Risk Management: this is the process of weighing strategy alternatives to accept, minimize or reduce evaluated risks and to select and implement appropriate measures.

- Risk Communication: this is an interactive process of exchange of information and opinions on risk among risk assessors, risk managers and other involved parties such as the industry, consumers and the academic community.

Risk: Risk is the potential harm that may arise from some present process or from some future event. It is often mapped to the probability of some event which is seen as undesirable. Usually the probability of that event and some assessment of its expected harm must be combined into a believable scenario (an outcome) which combines the set of risk, regret and reward probabilities into an expected value for that outcome. ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk     Health effect caused by a hazard in a food and the likelihood of its occurrence. Risk= Severity*Probability www.wordreference.com

Pathogen: biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host.

Prion diseases: diseases that result from the build-up of abnormal prion proteins in the brain and nervous system.

Societal: relating to human society and its members.

Stakeholders: a person or organisation that has a legitimate interest in a project or entity.

Uncertainty: the state of being unsure of something. Uncertainty can often be reduced by collecting more and better data. (See uncertainty versus variability). www.wordreference.com

White paper: an authoritative report; a government report outlining policy; or a document for the purpose of educating industry customers or collecting leads for a company. White papers are used to help people make decisions. www.wordreference.com