The Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety published an update to its Health and food audits and analysis work programme 2024. This update takes account of necessary changes largely due to the reprioritisation of controls and resources to better contribute to the Commissioner’s mandate. To learn more about the updated programme, please click here.
Animal by-products (ABP), while not suitable for human consumption, are converted into products that are brought to good use in many areas important for our daily lives. These include hides used to produce leather, fats used to produce biodiesel, or proteins, fats and microelements used for feeding animals, for the manufacture of medical devices, cosmetics and substrates for the pharmaceutical industry.
What all of these uses have in common is the requirement for quality and safety of the products derived from ABP and the need for effective oversight of ABP operators by the responsible competent authorities.
A new overview report from the European Commission has looked at the situation in the EU. It has found that inspections and checks carried out by the competent authorities (official controls) along the production chain of ABP and the products derived are generally implemented well. Nevertheless, the complexity of certain technical and engineering aspects of operators’ activities are challenging for competent authorities to check, requiring specialist knowledge to be effective. The EU Member States are working hard to address these challenges.
To read more about how ABP are brought to good use, please click here:
Every year, the European Commission carries out audits and other controls to verify that EU standards on food and feed safety, food quality, animal health and welfare, plant health and certain areas of human health are correctly implemented in EU Member States and in countries around the world that export to the EU.
In 2024 there are 234 planned controls, which includes 134 audits to assess control systems at the country level. Once complete, the outcomes of these audits are published on the website of the European Commission.
In addition, Commission experts will perform demand-driven controls such as those verifying compliance with EU legislation of border control posts, medical devices notified bodies, laboratories and testing facilities involved in studies for regulated product submission, and third country listings for exports to the EU.
The selection of planned controls results from a comprehensive prioritisation process. This is based on legal obligations for Commission controls, an assessment of risks posed in the sectors concerned and the Commission’s political priorities, in particular the Farm to Fork Strategy.
All controls help give consumers the confidence that their interests are protected.
The work programme also presents other activities planned for 2024. These include, for example, on the sustainable use of pesticides, the management of two networks of Member State authorities on their multi-annual national control plans and national audit systems, and the management of the Better Training for Safer Food programme.
To learn more about the details of the Health and Food Audits and Analysis Programme for 2024, please click here.
Fraud in the agri-food chain affects industry and consumers economically, undermines consumer trust and may lead to serious health issues. The EU has recognised the importance of tackling fraudulent and deceptive practices in the agri-food chain and since 2019 Member States are required to carry out risk-based controls to detect fraudulent and deceptive practices.
The Commission carried out a project between 2020 and 2022 to collect information on the new arrangements put in place by Member States to fight fraud in the agri-food chain. Based on this project, the Commission has published an overview report which focuses on eight Member Statues and how their competent authorities developed control arrangements and strategies to combat fraudulent practices. It presents the challenges, opportunities, and several good practice examples in relation to fraud related controls in the Member States.
To read the report on how Member States fight fraud along the agri-food chain please click on "Read more…"
Furthermore, the Commission published in March 2023 a guidance document to support Member States in their efforts to combat fraud within the agri-food supply chain. It is particularly helpful, as it clearly outlines how to uniformly interpret and apply the respective EU laws in the context of fighting food fraud.
A new Commission report describes the outbreaks of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa in the EU and the control measures introduced by the EU. The report analyses the challenges to control the disease and identifies examples of good practice. It concludes that eradication in small outbreak areas was successful, when EU control measures were applied. The report also identifies the factors which make it difficult to eradicate the disease in large outbreak areas and describes measures to contain the disease.
To read the report´s assessment on measures to control Xylella fastidiosa, please click here…
Bivalve molluscs (such as mussels, clams, oysters or scallops) have been common in European’s diet since ancient times. They feed by filtering microscopic algae from surrounding water. During this filtering, they can accumulate microorganisms, marine biotoxins and chemical contaminants, which can lead to illness in humans. Therefore, the EU has strict rules to reduce or mitigate this risk to consumers. These are implemented by competent authorities on production areas where bivalve molluscs are produced and harvested.
This overview report describes how competent authorities have developed comprehensive official controls and what their main challenges are to ensure the implementation of these rules.
To read the report on safe production of live bivalve molluscs please click on the 'Read more...' link below.
The Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety published an update to its Health and food audits and analysis work programme 2023. This update takes account of necessary changes largely due to the reprioritisation of controls and resources to better contribute to the Commissioner’s mandate. To learn more about the updated programme, please click on the 'Read more...' below.
A new Commission report describes the outbreak situation and assesses the impact of the EU emergency measures to control the introduction and spread of a new virus called tomato brown rugose fruit virus.
The report concludes that EU emergency measures, first introduced in 2019, created a high level of awareness of the disease and contributed to the control of the outbreaks but did not prevent the introduction of the virus to new production sites and its spread within infected crops. It further finds that infected seeds and plants are likely the most significant pathways for the introduction of the virus to a production site. It also identifies weaknesses in the sampling and testing regime of seeds and plants and the implementation of these by some national authorities. Finally, the report highlights the importance of stringent actions to minimise the risk of new outbreaks in the EU and makes proposals for improving the control measures.
Since its appearance in the EU in 2018, the tomato brown rugose fruit virus has caused severe damage in tomato and pepper crops. The infected plants die or produce deformed, unmarketable fruits. The EU emergency measures include controls on the production, import and movement of tomato and pepper seeds and plants, and in case of an outbreak, to implement strict hygiene and other measures.
To read the report´s assessment on measures to control the tomato brown rugose fruit virus, please click here…
The official control regulation seeks to ensure safe food and feed across the European Union. This 2021 annual report of how the Member States are implementing these rules shows that standards remain high in the EU.
Each year the European Commission carries out a number of controls and audits to maintain our high level of health protection in the EU, by checking that businesses and authorities are complying with legal requirements. This way European consumers can be confident that the food they consume is safe. This confidence is key to enabling the smooth operation of safe trade in food, animals and plants – both within the EU and with non-EU countries.
National authorities are responsible for carrying out official controls based on risk. If businesses along the food chain (farms, producers, distributors, packaging plants, restaurants, etc.) do not comply with legislation, authorities are required to enforce the requirements by taking steps to bring those operators back into compliance with the rules.
According to the data submitted by the EU countries, in 2021, some 16.9 million business entities were active in the EU food chain and subject to official controls by national authorities. The national authorities carried out some 5 million official controls in relation to these entities, leading to the identification of around 1 million non-compliance issues, the imposition of some half a million administrative sanctions and initiation of some 8 000 judicial actions.
The report also describes how the Commission supported the EU countries to continuously improve their official control systems through the provision of training and through meetings with Member States’ experts.
The accompanying staff working document provides further information about the controls carried out by the national authorities and by the Commission. The results of these controls show that EU countries have the necessary control systems in place and, overall, they provide levels of compliance compatible with food and feed safety and a healthy internal EU market. Commission controls identified weaknesses in certain national control systems and highlighted where there was room for improvement. The Commission’s systematic follow-up of its audit recommendations shows that, in general, national authorities take appropriate corrective measures to address shortcomings identified.
Learn more about official controls in the food chain, the annual reports by the EU countries and the details of this Commission report.
Fraud in the agri-food chain affects industry and consumers economically, undermines consumer trust and may lead to serious health issues. Food fraud scandals worldwide, including the addition of melamine to infant formula, the false declaration of horse meat and the illegal use of the pesticide fipronil in cleaning agents leading to contamination of eggs, brought the topic repeatedly into the public arena. The EU has recognised the importance of tackling fraudulent and deceptive practices in the agri-food chain. Since 2019 Member States are required to carry out risk-based controls in order to detect fraudulent and deceptive practices.
The Directorate for Health and Food Audits and Analysis of the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety carried out a project between 2020 and 2022 in order to collect information on the arrangements put in place by Member States to fight fraud in the agri-food chain and has published a technical report. This report presents the challenges, opportunities and several good practice examples in relation to fraud related controls in the Member States. It was developed to provide an important resource to support national authorities in their efforts to fight fraudulent and deceptive practices in the agri-food chain and to ensure the integrity of food production in the EU.
