A delegation from the Taiwan Food and Drug Authority (TFDA) and the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) visited the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) in June 2015, as part of the “Taiwan Study Visit - EU Animal Health and Food Safety Control" organised by DG TRADE. A two day programme was prepared for this visit to include elements of the EU food safety and animal health policy, the work of the FVO and to address specific questions received in advance from the delegation. These visits constitute a valuable opportunity to explain the role of the FVO in ensuring that public authorities meet their responsibilities to deliver the EU’s high standards and in turn receive information on how the visiting competent authorities organise their work. In particular, explanations were provided on the risk-based approach to planning the work of the FVO, prioritisation of areas and countries to audit, decision process highlighting timelines, consultation and transparency of the process as well as other activities developed by the FVO to contribute to the continual improvement of EU official controls. The exchange over two days was helpful in promoting better understanding of the respective control systems and how trade can be promoted under safe conditions.
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In order to export food of animal origin (meat, meat products, milk, cheese, etc.) to the EU, countries need to be approved. This approval includes a number of steps: (1) a positive evaluation of the competent authorities responsible for overseeing production and for certification of consignments; (2) a favourable animal health status and control system and (3) an approved residue control plan. These steps involved require desk-based evaluations and on-the-spot audits by the FVO who also carry out repeat evaluations and audits on a regular basis. In addition, production establishments must also be approved. Lists of approved countries and establishments are published by DG SANTE via the TRACES portal and are available to EU Border Inspection Posts, the authorities in the EU and third countries and to the public. Within DG SANTE, the FVO is responsible for management and maintenance of lists of establishments in third countries that are approved to export food of animal origin to the EU. For the vast majority of food commodities of animal origin, requirements have been in place for many years. For such commodities, lists of approved establishments were drawn up many years ago; establishments may be added or deleted from the lists as appropriate. For a number of commodities, particularly specialised products or where import volumes were very small, Member States retained responsibility for maintaining their own lists of establishments from which they authorised imports. The FVO has undertaken to progressively harmonise the lists of approved establishments for these commodities. To date, in addition to the list for the main food commodities, a harmonised list has been drawn up for 'Eggs & egg products' and work is currently in progress to harmonise lists for 'Frog legs and snails', 'Rendered animal fats and greaves' and 'Collagen'.
In 2015 the FVO started a new audit series in third countries on planting material (cuttings, pot plants, bare rooted plants, seeds etc.) exported to the EU. The phytosanitary risk, related to plants intended for planting is considered as high, because these plants are further cultivated or propagated in the European Union and it could mean an efficient pathway for the introduction and spread of harmful organisms. The range of harmful organism concerned is different for each plant species or group of species and for each country of origin. Some of the infections/infestations may remain latent, therefore an inspection at the time of export or import does not necessarily guarantee that the plants are free from the harmful organisms concerned. The particular risk related to planting material is in the EU plant health legislation generally addressed by requirements for specific production and control conditions, rather than bans, which are only applied in exceptional cases. How these specific conditions are met must be declared on the Phytosanitary Certificates from the National Plant Protection Organisation of the exporting country. In 2015, audits will be carried out in the major exporting countries of planting material for the EU (Costa Rica, China, Guatemala, Honduras, Serbia). The FVO auditors will check the status of harmful organisms of concern in the production areas used for the exports to the EU; the system of production, with particular attention to measures to avoid infection/infestation with harmful organisms and the system of phytosanitary controls during the production and before export. The audit reports and an overview report will be published on the DG SANTE website.
New legislation came into force in December 2014 on the labelling of fish, covering aspects from the common marketing regulation under the responsibility of DG MARE and from the FIC regulation (Food information to the consumer) under DG SANTE responsibility. In joint activities including audits between DG MARE and the FVO it will be evaluated how the regulations are implemented by the food business operators and the competent authorities and how it is assured that the necessary information is available and followed the fish to ensure reliable information to the consumer. The use and labelling of additives will also be included in this project. The project will start in October 2015 and will finish with an overview report at the end of 2016.
Representatives of the FVO unit dealing with fish participated in the Seafood EXPO organised in Brussels, Belgium from 21 to 23 April 2015. This is one of the world’s most important seafood trade fairs, dedicated to the industry, visited by buyers, suppliers, media, and other seafood professionals and with more than 1,690 exhibiting companies from over 75 countries. At the stand of the European Commission shared between DG MARE, DG TRADE and DG SANTE they presented the work of the FVO and discussed with the participants about common deficiencies and problems found during the audits on fishery products. The participation in this important event is a unique opportunity to show and explain the work of the FVO, to get in direct contact with various stakeholders and to get informed about news and trends of the production, processing and marketing of fish worldwide.
The Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) carried out eight audits from March 2012 to June 2013 in order to evaluate the official controls on the production of mechanically separated meat (MSM). The audits were carried out in Denmark, France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. Previously, the official controls on MSM had been partly evaluated in other FVO audits which covered the implementation of the hygiene package. This overview report covers the main findings and conclusions of the eight audits carried out. The Competent Authorities of all Member States visited have implemented official control systems covering the production of MSM. In most Member States visited these systems were satisfactory. However, shortcomings in the enforcement of EU legislation were noted particularly in the following areas: • General and specific hygiene requirements • Specific requirements for MSM production, in particular MSM not fulfilling all criteria distinguishing the two types of MSM as defined in Chapter III, Section V of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 • Misleading or possible fraudulent designation of MSM traded to other food business operators • Labelling of products for final consumers where MSM is incorporated as an ingredient In addition, in two Member States the Competent Authorities had not enforced the prohibition on the use of ruminant bones for MSM production laid down in Regulation (EC) No 999/2001. In these cases, immediate remedial action was requested and implemented.
Even the best performing protective systems are vulnerable to occasional crises. It is imperative therefore that they are prepared for such eventualities in order to quickly control and stamp out such threats. The FVO has carried out a series of five fact-finding missions to gather information and identify areas of best practice relevant to emergency preparedness arrangements in the event of a food/feed crisis, in particular concerning contingency planning. The report gives an overview of the differences and commonalities of the crisis management tools in place in the Member States visited and identifies a number of good practices. The report provides a summary of lessons learned taken from real cases in these Member States. In addition, it includes a section on what the Commission services have already undertaken or initiated to help better equip the EU to deal with any future food or feed crises.
After the breast implant scandal broke in Europe in late 2011 both the Commission, the EU Member States and EFTA and EEA countries realised that there was an urgent need to investigate what had gone wrong and to restore confidence in the regulation of medical devices. One of the actions led to the vetting of notified bodies responsible for conformity assessment of medical devices. The Commission took the lead in organising joint assessments of notified bodies, with the agreement of both the national authorities and the notified bodies in question. This report presents the outcome of 25 such joint assessments carried out in 23 countries in 2013 and 2014. It identifies common problems in the performance of both notified bodies and the national authorities responsible for their surveillance and monitoring. National authorities were requested to address these deficiencies, improve their monitoring of notified bodies and ensure that these do their job properly. In some cases, the joint assessments led to restrictions on notified bodies, ranging from compulsory reassessment of medical devices already on the market, to the termination of some notified bodies’ activities. The report also identifies best practices in the performance of national authorities and these have been shared among all of the EU authorities. Overall, these joint assessments have resulted in an improvement in the performance of notified bodies and their respective national authorities. The exercise has also laid the foundations for the introduction of a new and more comprehensive system for the assessment of notified bodies in the EU and has also provided valuable input to the ongoing negotiations in the European Parliament and Council on a new regulatory framework for medical devices in general.
Two serious potato bacterial diseases, ring rot and brown rot are regulated by EU law. The diseases do not make potatoes dangerous to eat for humans or animals, but they can seriously affect yield and quality of the potato crops. There is little possibility for chemical control of these diseases and therefore the goal is eradication from the EU. The bacteria causing ring rot spreads mainly via contaminated seed potatoes while the one causing brown rot can also spread through contaminated irrigation water. Member States are obliged to carry out annual surveys for the diseases and report the results to the Commission. They are also obliged, when the diseases are found, to carry out stringent and extensive eradication measures. The Commission has just published a report on the results of the 2013-2014 campaign and the situation of the two diseases in the EU. For each of the two bacteria, some 80,000 samples were analysed of the 2013 European potato crop. The results show that by steady application of the required measures, it is possible to reduce and ultimately eradicate the diseases from the potato crops. Most Member States have very low or no occurrence of the diseases, especially of brown rot, while some Member States still have some work to do, especially on ring rot to reduce the incidence towards eradication. The report on ring rot and brown rot can be found by following the "Read More" link, below.
The FVO has just begun a new project of audits covering official controls on the use of additives in food. EU requirements are specified in the Food Improvement Agents Package (FIAP). The first part of the project (FIAP 1) will concentrate, during 2015 and 2016, on the use of additives in meat and meat products. The project will subsequently be expanded to all foodstuffs. In the initial stages of the project, particular attention will be paid to the use of nitrites/nitrates, phosphates and smoke flavourings. So far, two audits have been completed and the reports of these will be published in due course (reports are usually published approximately 6 months after completion of the audit). In addition, an interim overview report will be published at the half-way stage of the project with a final overview report when FIAP 1 is complete. At this stage, it is too early to reach any overall conclusions but some common issues are emerging: • Official control of the use of additives is very complex due to the range of additives available and it is difficult to incorporate comprehensive additives control within routine hygiene checks. It may be that there is a need for competent authorities to supplement routine checks by deployment of expert, multi-disciplinary teams. • In most Member States, a number of competent authorities are involved in control of the food manufacturing, distribution and retail chain. Close co-operation and co-ordination between these authorities is vital.