Food legislation is in principle harmonized within the EU. The National Food Administration (NFA) takes an active part in the development of new legislation in co-operation with the other EU member states.
Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 lays down general principles and requirements of food law. There are also a large number of detailed EC Regulations in several fields.
EC Regulations are directly applicable in Sweden as published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ).
The Swedish Food Act complements the EC Regulations. It also points out the food control authorities and contains provisions on penalties and appeals.
EC Directives are transposed into NFA Regulations and published in the NFA's own Code of Statutes, LIVSFS (previously SLVFS). The authority for the NFA to issue legislation is primarily laid down in the Food Act and the Food Decree.