LEGAL REGULATION OF THE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF BABY FOOD PRODUCTION: EU REQUIREMENTS

The article highlights the issues of production of agricultural raw materials for baby food in the light of EU requirements. The author substantiates the critical interdependence of food safety with the safety of agricultural production. Based on the analysis of national legislation, it is established that a food product is a substance or product (unprocessed, partially processed or processed) intended for human consumption. The author concludes that the absence of the above legislative clarity in the definition of food as a substance intended only for food does not contribute to the effectiveness of further state control over the quality of such products. The author analyses the Law of Ukraine «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Bringing the Legislation of Ukraine in the Field of Baby Food Provision in Line with the Requirements of the European Union Legislation» of 21 October 2021. The article highlights the issue of cancellation of the special raw material zones regime. The author establishes that for a long time the legal institution of baby food production in Ukraine has been characterised by the legal regime of special raw material zones which is characterised by the following parameters which require that these lands be considered as an object of special protection and that they be allocated as part of especially valuable lands as a special type where it is possible to use pesticides and agrochemicals of natural origin only using special technologies which ensure the production of raw materials which meet mandatory sanitary and hygienic requirements for baby and dietary food. The author substantiates the thesis that the main motivation of the legislator in cancelling the provision on special raw material zones intended for the cultivation of products for baby and dietary nutrition was the fact that there are no such special raw material zones in EU legislation. The author focuses on the proposal to update the legislative provisions on special raw material zones as an alternative way of their abolition, with an emphasis on the priority application of biological phytosanitary measures as the most effective mechanism for the production of environmentally safe agricultural products.