• Entrepreneurs
• Business information
• Certification
• CAFIA laboratories
• CAFIA opinions
• More information
• Consumers
• How to know the food market
• Results of CAFIA inspections
• Consumer rights
• List of risky sites
• Hoaxes
• Other visitors
• Press Releases
• Internships at CAFIA
• Public contracts

2.8. Co-operation with other authorities and institutions in the Czech Republic

For the work of the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority the co-operation with a whole range of authorities and institutions is important. The importance of this co-operation significantly increased in the course of 2004 in connection with some new obligations of supervisory bodies after the accession of the CR to the EU.

The CAFIA Director General, Jakub Šebesta, and Director General of the General Customs Directorate (GCD), Zdeněk Richtr, signed an agreement on mutual co-operation in inspections of food of non-animal origin originating in third countries, imported to the European Union through the Czech Republic. In addition, the CAFIA and the State Agricultural Intervention Fund concluded a general agreement on co-ordination of inspections within common agricultural policy. In the area of wine inspections, the co-operation between the CAFIA and the Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture, which is the supervisory body for viniculture, was extended, mainly in providing information necessary to perform inspections. The importance of this co-operation increased during the year 2004 also in relation to entry of the new Act on viticulture and viniculture into force. The CAFIA also concluded an agreement with the State Office for Nuclear Safety on the work of the Radiation Monitoring Network bodies.

A stable co-operation between the CAFIA and public health protection authorities also continued, as well as with the State Veterinary Administration, the Czech Trade Inspection, trade authorities, and with the Police of the CR. This co-operation also included mutual conveyance of suggestions for inspections according to the competency of each authority.

As in previous year, the CAFIA took part in a meeting with representatives of producers and traders in the food industry within preventative activity, which was organised by the Association of Commerce and Tourism. At the meeting the questions submitted by the participants were discussed and the most frequent shortcomings ascertained by the CAFIA in the food inspections were presented.

The CAFIA continued co-operation with the Institute of Agriculture and Food Information, as well as with a number of consumer associations which the CAFIA regularly provides with information about its work and helps in responding to consumer queries. The co-operation between the Control, Laboratory and Certification Department of the Headquarters and organizations associating people suffering from celiac disease and the Food Research Institute Prague, continued. A CAFIA representative has been taking part in a meeting of the Consumer Advisory Committee of the MIT.

Also in 2004 there was a great interest of universities in co-operation with the CAFIA, whether in consultancy, lectures or educational visits to the CAFIA laboratories. During the year CAFIA noted 27 various forms of this co-operation with, for example, University of Economics in Prague, Czech University of Agriculture in Prague, Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry in Brno, Masaryk University in Brno, or Palacky University in Olomouc.