Food control and inspection in Germany

Source: Monika Wisniewska, Fotolia.com

It is the primary responsibility of the relevant economic sectors to ensure the proper composition, characteristics and labelling of the foodstuffs they place on the market. It is the duty of the competent authorities to check the marketability of foodstuffs by carrying out regular controls and targeted sampling. Consumers as well can make an active contribution to food safety.

Official food control and inspection

In Germany, the responsibility for official food control and inspection rests with the federal states (Länder). The competent Länder ministries draw up monitoring programmes that are carried out by the food inspection and veterinary offices in the urban and rural districts. The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) provides assistance in this regard by acting in a coordinating and advisory capacity.

There are control programmes on a nation-wide scale such as food monitoring, the National Monitoring Plan (BÜP) and the Multiannual National Control Plan (MNKP). The controls are carried out at the production and processing establishments for foodstuffs, commodities and cosmetics, at retail level or at the border inspection posts. Restaurants and communal catering facilities also undergo regular checks.

Immediate checks in the event of acute problems

The competent food inspection and veterinary offices in urban and rural districts determine the number of samples they take on the basis of the level of risk. In order to ascertain this level, records on businesses are kept and the businesses then classified into risk categories. If acute problems emerge, inspections are carried out without delay and further action is taken if necessary.

The food inspections are conducted by veterinarians, food chemists and appropriately qualified inspectors. They may take samples against receipt, which they then forward to laboratories for analysis and assessment. The Länder laboratories examine a total of approx. 400,000 samples every year.

The type of sampling is usually specified by the legislator in order to obtain standardized data that can withstand judicial scrutiny. The samples are tested for different ingredients, for bacteria and for compliance with the maximum levels laid down by law. Products that fail tests and that pose a risk to consumer health are withdrawn from the market. In addition to this, the presentation and labelling of products is also controlled.

In-house checks carried out by the industry

Businesses that produce, process and sell foodstuffs are required to document the quality of the raw materials used by carrying out in-house checks. Furthermore, all businesses must keep a record of whom they bought the foodstuffs and ingredients from and to whom they resold them. If a foodstuff poses risks, it is possible to ascertain within a short period of time at what point this risk (e.g. a contamination) arose.