Report on the initial visits by the Commission's services to the Member States pursuant to Article 5 of Council Directive 93/99/EEC with a view to evaluating the national systems for the official control foodstuffs
Date: 1998-02-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, consumer protection, food inspection, foodstuff, health policy

-*«ï8Pr 

COMMISSION  OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  11.02.1998 
COM(1998) 37  final 

REPORT ON THE INITIAL VISITS 

BY THE COMMISSION'S SERVICES TO THE MEMBER STATES 

PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 5 OF COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 93/99/EEC 

WITH A VIEW TO EVALUATING  THE NATIONAL  SYSTEMS 

FOR THE OFFICIAL CONTROL OF  FOODSTUFFS 

(presented by the Commission) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

2. 

THE GENERAL SITUATION 

2.1 

2.2 

2.3 

2.4 

2.5 

2.6 

2.7 

2.8 

2.9 

CONTROL STRUCTURES 

STAFF TRAINING 

BUDGET-HUMAN  RESOURCES 

PRIORITIES 

REGISTRATION AND AUTHORISATION  OF ESTABLISHMENTS 

FREQUENCY  OF CONTROLS 

POWERS OF THE CONTROL AUTHORITIES 

SHORTCOMINGS  IN CONTROLS 

CONTROL OF IMPORTED FOOD 

2.10 

INFORMATION OF CONTROL OFFICIALS -  CONSUMER  INFORMATION 

2.11 

TRAINING  OF FOOD SECTOR WORKERS 

2.12 

2.13 

EVALUATION  OF THE CONTROL  SERVICES 

ANALYSIS  LABORATORIES 

3. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

3.1 

3.2 

3.3 

ADDITIONAL  INFORMATION AND UPDATES 

IN-DEPTH  STUDY OF CERTAIN TOPICS 

EVALUATION  OF CONTROL ACTIVITIES ON THE GROUND,  IN THE COMPANY  OF THE OFFICIALS 

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REPORT  ON THE  INITIAL  VISITS BY THE COMMISSION'S  SERVICES 

TO THE  MEMBER  STATES PURSUANT TO ARTICLE  5 OF 

COUNCIL  DIRECTIVE  93/99/EEC WITH A VIEW  TO EVALUATING  THE  NATIONAL 

SYSTEMS FOR  THE  OFFICIAL  CONTROL  OF  FOODSTUFFS 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Article  5  of  Council  Directive  93/99/EEC  on  the  subject  of  additional  measures 
concerning  the  official  control  of  foodstuffs  provides  that  the  Commission  shall 
monitor  and  evaluate  the  equivalence  and  the  effectiveness  of  the  systems  for  the 
official  food  control  systems  operated  by  the  competent  authorities  in  the  Member 
States. 

To this end  an inspection body was created by the Commission, initially  attached  to 
the Directorate-General  for  Industry  and later transferred  to the  Directorate-General 
for  Consumer  Policy  and  Consumer  Health Protection.  The  officials  of this  service 
have been designated to carry out these controls. 

The  purpose  of  the  visits  was  to  obtain  an  accurate  picture  of  the  work  and 
responsibilities  of the competent authorities. 

The  Directives  on  the  official  control  of  foodstuffs  (89/397/EEC  and  93/99/EEC) 
were the principal basis of the search for  information. 

Precise  information  was  provided  by  the  food  control  services  on  the  following 
major  domains: 

I. 

legal  powers  in  matters  relating  to  food  control,  notably  the  power  to  take 
appropriate measures in the event of health hazards; 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

policy, education and adoption of priorities in regard to official  control; 

details on the resources allocated to the food  control system (budget,  staff, 
equipment); 

relations  between  the  central  authorities  and the  authorities  implementing 
the controls; 

measures  taken to ensure that central  legislation  and policies  are  correctly 
implemented  on the ground. 

The visits took place between February  1995 and June  1997. They  lasted  a week  in 
each  Member  State.  They  were  carried  out  by  two  Commission  officials 
accompanied  in  most  cases  by  a  national  expert  from  a  State  other  than  the  host 
State, selected  from  the lists supplied by the Member States. 

Prior  details  on  the  above-mentioned  domains  had  been  supplied  by  the  Member 
States via a questionnaire addressed to the Permanent Representations. 

All the visits were organised on the- same lines, viz. : 

I. 

II. 

initial  meeting  with  the  competent  central  authority;  visit  to  the  central 
laboratories; 

meeting  with  regional  and  local  authorities  (depending  on  the  country's 
administrative structure); visit to control units and laboratories; 

III. 

final 

evaluation  meeting  with  the  competent  authorities  and  presentation 

of a report; 

IV. 

official  transmission  of the report to the Permanent  Representation  of  the 
country visited. 

The  information  was  collected  during  the  meetings  and  visits  on  the  basis  of  a 
questionnaire for use by the Commission  officials. 

The visits were facilitated  by the full  collaboration of all the authorities  involved. 

These visits  should be considered  as the initial phase of the controls provided  for  in 
Article  5 of Directive  93/99/EEC, with  a view  to  understanding  and  evaluating  the 
official  control  systems. They should give rise to additional visits on certain  themes 
discussed in this report. 

2.  THE GENERAL  SITUATION 

Food  produced  in the Community  is  subject  to  official  control  to  ensure  protection 
of public health, consumers and fair competition. Food control in the Member  States 
is  carried  out  independently  of  the  food's  place  of  origin  within  the  Community. 
Controls are also carried out at all stages of production, storage and distribution. 

2.1 

Control structures 

Depending  on  the  country's  political  and  administrative  structure,  two 
systems exist: 

I. 

II. 

powers to legislate and carry out controls exercised by one or more 
ministries with control units at regional or department  level; 

powers  to  legislate  exercised  by  one  or  more  ministries  or  a 
national agency, and powers to carry out controls  exercised by  the 
regional  or  municipal  authorities,  whereby  the  central  authorities 
play  a coordinating  role. The powers  to  carry  out  certain  controls, 
notably  those  concerning  imports,  are  sometimes  retained  by  the 
central authorities. 

In certain Member  States the services  are currently being reformed  (transfer 
or reallocation of responsibilities). 

It should be noted that in several countries the larger municipalities  exercise 
control  on their  territory  using  their  own  services. In most  cases  it  was  not 
possible to look into the operation of these services. 

The distribution of powers between several ministries sometimes leads to the 
risk  of ambiguities  as to responsibilities  (with  absence of controls in  certain 
sectors or overlapping powers with redundant controls in others). This means 
that better coordination between these ministries is required. In certain  cases 
collaboration between ministries has been observed. 

Investment  of  regional  or  local  authorities  with  control  responsibilities 
makes the need  for coordination from the central  and regional  authorities  all 
the greater. 

2.2 

Staff  training 

According to the information  received it seems that in most countries there is 
a two-tier recruitment  system for personnel " on the ground" , depending  on 
the nature of the control tasks: 

I. 

II. 

university  graduates:  chemists,  food  chemists,  "environmental 
health  officers",  engineers,  doctors,  pharmacists,  veterinary 
surgeons:  for  the  career  of  "inspector",  generally  responsible  for 
controlling industry-level  establishments, 

secondary (or intermediate)  education  supplemented  by  vocational 
training  of variable  duration  depending  on  the country  concerned, 
provided by institutes or academies or by the administration  itself, 
and  followed  by  practical  training:  for  the  career  of  "controller", 
generally  responsible  for  inspecting  the  retail  trade  or  restaurants 
and  for  taking  samples.  In  at  least  three  countries  which  have  a 
food police force, police officers  are recruited also. 

In  quite  a number  of  countries  the  level  of recruitment  seems  to  have  been 
unique  for  a  number  of  years,  viz.  secondary  education  followed  by  an 
environmental health officer  diploma obtained after three or four  years  study 
in a university institute specialised in environmental  sciences. 

This training pattern explains why as a rule staff  are not responsible  for  food 
control alone but also for other environmental domains. 

It seems that not all countries have precise requirements as to basic training. 

There is a need for additional information  in this area, notably on the content 
of vocational training (subjects taught, practical tuition). 

Continuing  training,  while  available  in  all  the  Member  States,  is  more 
widespread  in some than  in others. It is provided both by  the ministries  and 
by  the  regional  authorities.  The  main  topic  seems  to  be  HACCP  (Hazard 
analysis  and  critical  control  points)  in  the  undertakings,  where  certain 

countries  have  made  more  progress  than  others.  In  several  countries  the 
controllers  have  stated  that until now they have been  inadequately  schooled 
in this area. 

A  more  in-depth  study  of  the  topics  addressed  in  continuing  training  is 
desirable,  mainly  with  a  view  to  pooling  information  between  Member 
States. 

The  exchanges  of  officials  between  Member  State  administrations  in  the 
field of the internal market (Karolus Programme)  seem to be appreciated,  by 
allowing knowledge and a reflexion  concerning the control systems. 

2.3 

Budget -human  resources 

Depending  on the country,  funds  are provided  by national, regional- or  local 
authorities or by a combination thereof. 

Except  for  special  cases  controls  are  generally  free  of  charge  but  certain 
countries  charge  fees  for  health  approvals  (agréments  sanitaires),  for  the 
taking of samples and analyses, for inspections or for a combination  of these 
activities. 

It  is  difficult  to  compare  the  inspection  budgets  in  the  different  Member 
States. This is because the calculations do not always take the same elements 
into  consideration  and  because  the  controllers'  activities  are  not  normally 
confined  to food inspections alone. 

In  most  cases  the  authorities  visited  acknowledged  that  they  were  short  of 
staff. Additional information  on human resources in all countries is required. 

2.4 

Priorities 

the 

In most countries the central authorities or committees of regional  authorities 
lay  down  priorities,  notably  taking  into  account  the  results  of  controls 
performed  by 
implementing  authorities,  coordinated  European 
programmes  and  the  opinions  of  scientific  committees.  The  role  played  by 
the  implementing  authorities  in  laying  down  central  priorities  varies  from 
country  to country.  There were many  cases  of delays  in the  transmission  of 
the  results  of  controls  by  the  implementing  authorities  to  the  central  or 
regional  authorities:  these  delays  may  adversely  affect  the  definition  of 
priorities. They  also  lead  to delays  in transmitting  the Member  States'  food 
control statistics to the Commission. 

Consideration of the risks, provided  for in Community legislation  (Directive 
93/43/EEC) on the hygiene of foodstuffs),  is one of the criteria  for  selecting 
priorities  and  is  applied  more  consistently  in  some  Member  States  than  in 
others. The priorities take the form  of annual inspection  and sampling plans, 
targeted actions, monthly campaigns and coordinated European programmes. 

Besides  the  central  priorities  -  issued  in  the  form  of  instructions  or 
recommendations  depending  on  the  country's  administrative  system  -
priorities adapted to regional or local needs are determined in all countries. 

The visits revealed that catering establishments (notably in nurseries, schools 
and retirement homes) are a priority control area in the Member States. 

Some  countries  have  developed  and  adopted  a  risk  evaluation  system  in 
planning  controls  of  establishments  on  the  basis  of  several  criteria  for 
determining  the  risk  level  and  the  frequency  of  controls.  This  system 
requires sophisticated information  technology and the prior registration of all 
establishments.  It  looks  as  though  it  will  be  developed  in  all  the  Member 
States  in  the  near  or  not  so  near  future  and  will  replace  the  traditional  and 
more  subjective  systems, based  on the  controllers'  own  experience  with  the 
establishments,  their  personal  hunches  and  familiarity  with  .the  socio 
economic structure of the regions, including the at-risk trades. 

2.5 

Registration  and authorisation of establishments 

Member  States  differ  considerably  in  regard  to  the  registration  and 
authorisation of establishments. 

In  most  Member  States,  health  approval  (agrément  sanitaire)  is  required 
(following  submission  of  a  dossier  to  the  control  authorities  and  an 
inspection  visit  from  these  authorities)  for  industrial  plants  or  for  certain 
categories, while  a health  authorisation  (autorisation sanitaire)  is  necessary 
(issued  by  the  control  authorities)  for  retail  establishments  (fixed  or 
itinerant),  for  catering  establishments,  import  businesses,  etc.  But  such 
requirements  do  not  seem  to  exist  in  all  countries,  or  they  are just  in  the 
process  of  being  introduced.  Failing  these  obligations,  an  inventary  and  an 
adequate control of these establishements can not be ensured. 

Depending on the country's administrative structure: 

I. 

II. 

the  central  authorities  (one  of  the  ministries)  or  the  regional 
authorities  deliver  the  health  approvals;  this  approach  makes  for 
greater  uniformity; 

the  local  authorities  (including  the  municipalities)  deliver  the 
health  authorisations  and, 
the  health 
approvals, which may adversely affect  uniformity. 

in  certain  countries, 

Some  progress  has  been  noted  in  certain  countries  or  local  units  where 
information  technology has been used to inventory all the establishments and 
their particulars  and  inspection  reports,  and  also to transmit  the  lists  to  the 
other  control  authorities.  On  the  other  hand,  other  services  visited 
acknowledged  that  they  cannot  keep  tabs  on  all  the  establishments  which 
have to be controlled (notably in the catering sector). 

A more in-depth study of this dossier will be required. 

2.6 

Frequency of controls 

Risk  assessment,  mentioned  at  2.4,  is  one  of  the  criteria  applied  in 
determining  the  frequency  of  controls.  This  criterion  is  most  developed  in 
countries  that  have  introduced  a  computerised  system  in  planning  their 
controls. 

In most countries the central authorities recommend or prescribe a frequency 
which  may  range  from  once  monthly  for  the  production  of  perishable 
foodstuffs  to once every two years for the storage of preserved  foods. 

However,  the  visits  and  the  control  statistics  have  shown  that,  largely 
because  of  manpower  shortages,  it  has  not  been  possible  to  meet  the 
objectives  in  several  countries  and  that  as  a  result  there  are  considerable 
differences  in "control pressure" between Member States. 

.  " 

2.7 

Powers of the control authorities 

The  visits  showed  that  in  all  countries  the  officials  responsible  for  controls 
had the necessary powers to enforce  the rules  and to take  appropriate  action 
in  the  event  of  health  hazards,  accompanied  by  police  powers  in  certain 
countries. 

The  powers  to  confiscate  insanitary  food  are  not  always  invested  in  the 
authority  responsible  for  the  control  but  sometimes  too  in  the  health 
authority,  which  must  issue  an  opinion.  The  same  applies  to  decisions  to 
destroy  confiscated  food,  which  in  certain  countries  is  a prerogative  of  the 
courts,  and  to  the  closure  of  insanitary  establishments,  where  in  certain 
countries  the  decision  must  be  confirmed  by  the  health  authority  or  by  a 
municipal  authority. 

In  all  countries,  infringements  -  depending  on  their  severity  -may  bring 
warnings,  cautions,  and  administrative  or  penal  sanctions  in  their  wake. 
However  - while several countries tend more to a punitive  approach - others 
put  the  focus  on  education,  except  in the  case  of  severe  infringements.  The 
educational  approach is designed to correct errors and this is reflected  in  the 
statistics on infringements.  The general trend  seems to be  in the  educational 
direction. 

2.8 

Shortcomings  in controls 

(1) 

HACCP in the undertakings 

As  in  the  case  of  HACCP  training  of  inspectors,  the  introduction  of  the 
system into the undertakings is behind schedule to a varying extent in all the 
Member  States  (however,  a  few  States  envisage  its  general  introduction  in 
1997), according to the declarations received from the control authorities and 
a number of punctual visits carried out. 

Small  firms,  catering  establishments  and  above  all  retail  stores  (where 
HACCP  is  almost  non-existent  in  the  EU)  trail  far  behind  the  leading 
industrial  firms.  Certain  Member  States are considering  enforcing  guides  of 
good conduct instead of HACCP for the retail trade. However, preparation  of 
these  guides  of  good  conduct  is  not  equally  advanced  in  all  the  Member 
States. 

In certain Member States with an education-oriented  approach to control, the 
officials  help  in  the  preparation  of  HACCP  systems  in  small  undertakings 
and  businesses.  However,  this  assistance  may  clash  with  their  role  as 
supervisors. 

The delay in implementing HACCP means in fact that there has been  failure 
to  comply  with the requirements  of Directive  93/43/EEC  on the  hygiene  of 
foodstuffs. 

(2) 

Other topics 

In numerous Member  States controls of chemical risks -  notably  as regards 
additives,  contaminants  and  materials  in  contact  with  food  -  have  proven 
inadequate. 

2.9 

Control of imported food 

There  are  considerable  differences  between  the  Member  States,  mainly 
because they apply different  systems, viz.: 

I. 

II. 

III. 

control  at  Community  entry  points,  whereby  the  degree  of 
collaboration  with  the customs  authorities  differs  from  country  to 
country:  there  may  be  systematic  document  controls  or  controls 
limited  to  certain  foodstuffs,  with  batches  being  analysed  at 
random  or  in  the  event  of  suspicion  only,  in  respect  of  certain 
foodstuffs  or for all  foodstuffs; 

control of food  once it has been placed on the market, on the  same 
basis as EC-produced  food; 

application  of  the  principle  that  liability  lies  primarily  with  the 
importer, with verification  of the internal  control  systems  (notably 
HACCP) established by the importer in order to check whether  the 
imported food  complies with Community and national provisions. 

As  a  result  "control  pressure"  in  respect  of  imported  food  differs  from 
country to country', and in certain cases leads to a laxer treatment of imported 
food than Community  food. 

This dossier should be the subject of a more in-depth study on the ground. 

2.10 

Information  of control officials -  consumer information 

The  level  of  information  of  officials  -  notably  as  regards  legislation  and 
changes 
in  the  law,  case  law,  inspection  and.  sampling  procedures 
(sometimes  with  a  breakdown  by  type  of  establishment  and  foodstuff)  -
varies  from  one  country  to  another.  The  same  applies  to  food  safety 
information  for consumers. 

A more in-depth study of these areas would be desirable with a view mainly 
to pooling information between Member States. 

2.11  Training of food  sector workers 

In  certain  countries,  food  sector  workers  must  have  received  vocational 
training. In some countries the control authorities  are involved  in training  in 
the field of worker hygiene, notably by organising courses or conferences  or 
publishing brochures. More information  is needed on this topic. 

2.12  Evaluation  of the control services 

While in certain countries performance  evaluation  of the control  services  by 
the  central  authorities  is  limited  -  sometimes  for  constitutional  reasons  -  to 
examining  the  control  statistics  provided  by  these  services,  other  countries 
have  introduced  an  audit  system,  currently  at  internal  level.  This  system  is 
being developed in parallel with quality assurance in the administration. 

These trends should be followed up. 

2.13  Analysis  laboratories 

The  official  controls  generally  rely  on  public  laboratories,  but  private 
laboratories are also involved. 

The  laboratory  accreditation process provided  for  in Directive  93/99/EEC  is 
more developed in some countries than in others, with the result that in some 
cases  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  deadline  of  1  November  1998  can  be  met. 
The  accreditation  bodies  are  generally  private  organisations  and  in  many 
cases laboratories are accredited on a sector of activity basis. Some countries 
have opted  for  approval  of  isolated  tests, others  for  approval  of batteries  of 
tests. 

In  many  countries  the  laboratories  perform  private  analyses  as  well  as 
official  ones, which means that conflicts of interest are not totally ruled out. 

The  role  played  by  the  laboratories  in  determining  control  priorities  varies 
from country to country. 

10 

3.  RECOMMENDATIONS 

The results of the first round of visits indicate that, in compliance with  Article  5 of 
Directive  93/99/EEC,  these  visits  should  be  continued  with  a  view  to  obtaining 
additional information  and to investigating in greater depth certain aspects in several 
domains, with an eye to a more thorough assessment of the control  systems, notably 
at grass roots level: 

3.1 

Additional  information and updates 

I. 

II. 

III. 

powers  and  activities  of  certain  ministries,  services  and  coordination 
committees; 

activities of the municipalities in certain countries; 

progress in laboratory accreditation. 

All  major  changes  in  the  administrative  structure  of  a  country's  control  services 
should give rise to a new evaluation mission. 

3.2 

In-depth  study of certain topics 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

3.3 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

training of control officials,  continuing training; 

information  and  instructions  provided  by  the  control  authorities  to  their 
officials;  consumer  information; 

evaluation of the control services by the national or regional authorities; 

authorisation and registration of the establishments subject to controls; 

training of food  sector workers. 

Evaluation  of  control  activities  on  the  ground,  in  the  company  of  the 
officials 

control of imported  food; 

control of HACCP in the undertakings; 

controls  relating  to  additives,  contaminants,  materials  in  contact  with 
food; 

controls in priority sectors such as catering establishments;, 

control procedures relating to undertakings and taking of food  samples. 

11 

Hence  as  from  January  1998  it  is  planned  to  organise  a  one-week  visit  to  each 
Member  State  with  a  view  to  evaluating  control  activities  on  the  ground,  besides 
obtaining additional information  and studying certain subjects in greater depth. 

Moreover, it should be possible to organise urgent missions at any moment,  notably 
in the following cases: 

I. 

II. 

to  accompany  control  officials  in  visits  to  establishments  affected  by  a 
rapid alert and, possibly, other establishments in the same sector; 

to follow up the adoption of a safeguard  clause concerning a third country, 
in  application  of  Article  10  of  Directive  93/43/EEC  on  the  hygiene  of 
foodstuffs. 

12 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(98) 37  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

03  10  17  15 

Catalogue  number  :  CB-CO-98-061-EN-C 

ISBN  92-78-30822-6 

Office  for  Official  Publications  of the European  Communities 

L-2985 Luxembourg 

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