The basic target of the food law is the protection of customers against various types of hazards to customer health related to consumption of food. The legislator may establish various orders and interdictions being the instruments of risk management. Choice of such instruments should not depend on recognition and should result from the risk assessment performed using scientific methods. The interested consumers, as well as producers and suppliers of food, should be notified about the chosen methods of risk management and about the arguments for such choice. This is called risk communication and, together with risk assessment and risk management, they constitute the elements of risk analysis, which is the foundation of the modem food law effective in countries of the European Union and, to a growing extent, also in Poland. The serious legislative problem emerges in case of hazards for which there is no scientific data allowing to conduct the correct risk analysis. In such cases it is suggested to apply, in the food law, the precautionery and preventive action principles, which were introduced earlier in the international law for the purposes of environmental protection. The article presents the fundamental concepts and defines risk analysis and the principle of precautionery, and also includes examples of practical application.