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Food Safety

Health and Food Audits and Analysis

The European Commission carries out controls aimed at monitoring the implementation and enforcement of EU legislation on food and feed safety, animal health, animal welfare, plant health and in certain areas of human health protection.

This means that EU citizens enjoy a high level of safety, and that goods are traded in safe conditions. Within the Commission, the responsibility for this work has been assigned to the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety.

How does the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety achieve this?

The Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety has a specific division that dedicates most of its resources to Commission controls: the department for health and food audits and analysis.

Formerly known as the Food and Veterinary Office, it is located in Ireland. It has a team of 160 professionals from most EU countries that carries out controls to ensure that the national authorities in EU countries and non-EU countries exporting to the EU are fulfilling their legal obligations. In general, this is done by audits focusing on control systems rather than individual premises, but other controls such as fact-finding studies are also carried out.

The department produces reports of its control activities, which are, with few exceptions, publicly available on this website. You can find these reports by clicking on audit reports, or on the interactive map.

Who decides the topics and countries to control?

The Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety develops a multi-annual plan that sets out the priorities for its controls for the following 5 years. This prioritisation takes account of legal requirements for Commission controls, the risk posed in the policy areas of the control universe, as well as the Commission’s political priorities.

Each year, on the basis of the multi-annual plan, it also establishes and publishes an annual work programme, produced in consultation with other Commission services (where relevant) and with EU countries. The programme provides a balance between EU countries and non-EU countries.

To learn more about our activities in the areas of audit, controls other than audits and non-control activities please click on the items below.

Further information

Annual reports

Our annual reports describe the overall outcome of national and Commission control activities to ensure a high level of health and food safety.

Work programmes

Our annual work programme identifies the work priorities in context of identified risks, legal obligations and Commission priorities.

Audit reports

Search and view Audit reports produced by the department.

Overview reports

Search and view Overview reports produced by the department.

Audit map

View the map, select a country to see a list of audits.

Country profiles

A compilation of key information for each Member State.

News

See our latest publications and news.

Videos

A selection of videos to help demonstrate what we do.