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12.11.2018 - Foods

The new Control Regulation (EU) No. 2017/625

Below are some aspects associated with the new Regulation (EU) 2017/625, which will replace the current Regulation on Official Controls (Regulation (EC) No. 822/2004) in about four years. This should harmonize and improve the requirements for official controls in the agricultural and food supply chains.

The main innovation of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 is the expansion of its scope; i.e., it applies not only to official controls of food and feed, as well as animal health and animal welfare, but also to:

• organic production and eco-labeling
• GMOs for the purpose of food and feed production
• animal by-products
• plant protection/plant protection products

So far, in official controls, certificates from private standards, such as IFS, ISO, etc., were considered; however, this was at the discretion of the competent authority. The new regulation states: Competent authorities shall subject all enterprises to regular risk-based official controls with appropriate frequency, taking into account, among other things, the reliability and results of self-monitoring carried out by operators or on their behalf by third parties, where applicable including private quality assurance mechanisms... (Article 9, letter d).

New in the regulation are two terms according to Article 9 paragraph 2: "The competent authorities shall carry out... official controls to detect any violations of the provisions intentionally committed by fraudulent or misleading practices pursuant to Article 1, paragraph 2." There is currently no definition of the term "fraud" in the food sector, and it is being intensively discussed.

Trading goods over the internet is steadily increasing. According to the new regulation, competent authorities may anonymously order official samples without identifying themselves. Since it is not possible to leave an official counter-sample in such cases, the competent authorities take all measures upon receipt of the samples to ensure that the operators' right to a second expert opinion is preserved (Article 36).

The sensitive issue of "financing official controls" is regulated in Articles 79-91; existing fees (import, slaughterhouse-inspection, etc.) remain in place; occasion-based inspections are still subject to fees, for regular inspections there are no mandatory fees, but Member States may levy fees for regular inspections.

So far, in Germany, there is no comprehensive protection for employees (so-called whistleblowers) who report grievances in companies to authorities. According to the new Control Regulation 2017/625, Member States should ensure that persons who report violations are protected from sanctions, discrimination, or other types of unfair treatment.

Our customer advisors are very happy to answer any questions you may have.

Source: Lebensmittelchemie 72, 73-104 (2018)