The Future Role of the Food and Veterinary Office M.C. Gaynor, Director, FVO

1. EUROPEAN COMMISSION HEALTH & CONSUMER PROTECTION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL Directorate F - Food and Veterinary Office The Future Role of the Food and Veterinary OfficeM.C. Gaynor, Director, FVO FSAI Food Safety Conference 2004 A New Agenda for Official Food Controls Dublin, 11 March 2004

2. Proposal for a Regulation on OFFICIAL FEED AND FOOD CONTROLS COM(2003)52 5 March 2003 http://www.cc.cec/clxint/htm/celex_en.htm

3. Official ControlsDefinition and scope • Any form of control by: • the Competent Authority in the Member States • the Community (FVO) • For verification of compliance with • feed law and food law, • rules on animal health, animal welfare and certain aspects of plant health, • including organic farming, geographical indications, designation of origin • All food and feed(including petfood)

4. Framework for Controls • Integrated national control plans (NCP) • Commission guidelines for control plans • National audit systems • National reports • Commission controls • Commission reports

5. National Control Plan • Single integrated multi-annual • General information on structure & organisation of national control systems • strategic objectives and how reflected in prioritisation of controls and allocation of resources; • designation of competent authorities and their tasks at central, regional and local level, and resources available; • general organisation and management of official control systems at all levels including individual establishments;

6. National Control Plan (2) • systems applied in different sectors and co-ordination between different services in charge of these sectors; • where appropriate, delegation of tasks to control bodies; • methods to ensure compliance with requirements regarding • operational criteria • documentation of procedures • training of staff performing official controls • contingency plans for disease and other emergencies • organisation of co-operation and mutual assistance

7. National Control Plan (3) • Control plansto take account of identified risks • experience and knowledge from previous controls • reliability of operators own controls • suspicion of non compliance • cover all stages of production • frequency of controls appropriate to achieve objectives

8. Guidelines Commission Guidelines for NCPs • adopt by Advisory Procedure • non-binding • promote consistent, comprehensive and integrated approach covering all sectors and stages • reflect standards and recommendations made by relevant international bodies regarding operation of official services; • lay down criteria for conduct of internal audits of national competent authorities;

9. Guidelines (2) • lay down the structure of, and information to be included in annual reports • lay down performance indicators to be applied in assessing national control plans; • be revised in the light of annual reports or audits and controls by the Commission • identify risk based and other priorities and most effective control procedures;

10. Guidelines (3) • identify points in chain which provide most reliable and indicative information about compliance with law; • encourage adoption of best practices at all levels; • encourage the development of effective traceability systems; • provide advice on development of systems to record performance and results of control actions;

11. National Audits by MS • internal or external audits by, or on behalf of, CA to ensure objectives of regulation are achieved • Audit means a systematic and independent examination to determine whether activities and results comply with planned arrangements and whether these arrangements are implemented effectively and are suitable to achieve objectives • CA shall take appropriate measures in the light of their results • Commission may adopt detailed rules for implementation.

12. Member States Annual Reports • results of controls and audits carried out in previous year; • number and type of infringements established; • actions taken to ensure effective operation of plans including enforcement actions and their results; • update of national control plan;

13. Current FVO Controls in MS • Audits based on specific sectors/ commodities to establish • effectiveness of CA & national control systems • verify correct implementation of feed/food law • investigate problems and emergencies. • Enables overview of specific sector within individual and across all MS • Audit findings in each MS consolidated to build an individual MS’s profile for ‘follow-up’.

14. New FVO Controls in MS General audits on a regular basis to verify that official controls in a MS are in accordance with its National Control Plan and Community Law • systematic evaluation of • national control plans, • national audits & reports thereon, and • annual reports. • desk analysis and/or “on the spot”

15. New FVO Controls in MS General audits will be supplemented by Specific audits / on-the-spot inspections to • verify actions in a particular sector; • investigate important or recurring problems; • investigate emergencies, emerging problems or new developments

16. Commission Reporting • Individual Reports on controls / inspections • Annual Reportto the European Parliament and the Council • Annual Report based on outcome of Commission controls and other relevant information • May include - • improvements to official control and audit systems; • specific control actions on sectors or activities; • co-ordinated plans aimed at addressing particular issues.

17. FVO Annual Control Programme • FVO controls on basis of Annual Control Programme • Programme will take account of the evaluation and audit of MS national control plans, national audits and annual reports • FVO will place great emphasis on National Audit Systems and their results • Where MS have properly functioning / sufficiently independent national audit systems • Then the frequency of on-the-spot inspection and specific audits may be reduced

18. EUROPEAN COMMISSION HEALTH & CONSUMER PROTECTION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL Directorate F - Food and Veterinary Office - Thank You - FSAI Food Safety Conference 2004 A New Agenda for Official Food Controls Dublin 11 March 2004