A A C C   2 0 0 0   A n n u a l   M e e t i n g

The Precautionary Principle is a risk analysis and management principle that emphasizes a political component in government decision making. Risk management has traditionally taken together hazard identification, exposure and dose-response with legal structures, technological control options, costs and risk perception to determine a government legislative or regulatory proposal. In February 2000, the European Commission adopted a Communication on the precautionary Principle, which expanded its application from the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development to the White Paper on Food Safety and the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety. The principle will now be applied not only to the environmental field but also to the protection of human, animal and plant health. For example in the United States the Environmental Protection Agency has used a precautionary principle to propose a regulatory rewrite of the Clean Water Act. This presentation will describe the impact of these government actions on the use and discharge of water by food manufacturers.