Foodlaw-Reading
Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
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Commission audit news, 29 March 2022
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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION on the overall operation of official controls carried out in Member States (2019-2020) to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products A copy of the report is available on this site (click on image). A separate document is also available: COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION |
This report covers the overall operation of EU countries’ official controls and the Commission’s control activities carried out in 2019 and 2020 to ensure a high level of health protection and trust in the food chain, from farm to fork. These controls and audits are important to verify that businesses are complying with the legal requirements and so that European consumers can be confident that the food they consume is safe. They are also 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 do not comply with the relevant legislation, the authorities are required to enforce the requirements by taking steps to bring those operators back into compliance.
For the first time, the report contains standardised EU-wide statistical data and (info)graphs showing the total number of business entities operating in the food chain, the number of official controls performed by national authorities, the numbers of non-compliances detected and numbers of administrative sanctions imposed and judicial actions taken.
According to the data submitted by the EU countries, in 2020, some 16.8 million business entities were active in the EU food chain and subject to official controls by national authorities. The national authorities carried out some 4.1 million official controls in relation to these entities, leading to the identification of around 655,000 non-compliance issues, the imposition of some 388,000 administrative sanctions and initiation of some 12,700 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.
