Benelux

The Benelux countries plan to organise a joint crisis-management exercise in the area of food safety

01 Apr. 2026

The food safety authorities of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg will organise a joint crisis exercise to improve their preparedness for possible cross‑border incidents. This decision was taken during the annual meeting of the Benelux Heads of Food Safety Agencies (HoAs).

The Deputy Secretary‑General of the Benelux, T. Köller, stressed that cooperation is essential to protect consumers. “Together, we are better equipped to prevent cross‑border food crises and to respond to them effectively,” he said.

The meeting was chaired by Mr G. Bakker, Inspector‑General of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). The three authorities also confirmed their continued cooperation in areas such as e‑commerce, animal feed and laboratory collaboration.

The discussion also covered ways to strengthen the resilience of food‑control organisations. The joint crisis exercise is expected to contribute to this goal.

Finally, the Belgian delegation presented an artificial‑intelligence application used in food safety inspections.