• 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

3. International relations

3.1. Bilateral co-operation

The CAFIA endeavoured to further develop its activity by means of bilateral co-operation with similar foreign entities. CAFIA experts visited Austrian national control authority at the Ministry of Health and Women (Bundesministerium für Gesundheit und Frauen) and the regional inspectorate in Vienna to gain experience in organizing inspections of food imported to the EU from third countries. CAFIA representatives obtained detailed information about organization of inspections and about their priorities in the field of imports controls at the national level (control plan which takes into account possible risks, co-ordination of regional units activities, application of precautionary measures according to binding EC legislation, communication with the Commission, with other Member States and with responsible bodies of third countries, follow up measures according to the EC food law in case of rejected consignments, and co-operation with customs services).

Furthermore, CAFIA experts visited regional inspectorate of the Dutch control authority (Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, Voedsel en Waren Autoriteit, VWA) and the Plant Protection Service (PPS) with aim to gain practical experience and knowledge concerning controls of certain commodities (nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit and vegetables) imported from third countries in accordance with EC Regulations. The Dutch colleagues acquainted CAFIA representatives with the system of planning and performing inspections, with sampling rules, samples delivery to the laboratory for aflatoxin analysis, with the method of evaluating the analysis results, deciding about how to treat defective consignments, and at last but not least, CAFIA representatives obtained information about co-operation of the Dutch control authority with customs services.

In the area of bilateral co-operation, the relationship with the Hungarian Food Safety Office, HFSO, (Magyar Élelmiszer-biztonsági Hivatal) and with the Hungarian General Inspectorate for Consumer Protection, GICP, (Fogyasztóvédelmi Főfelügyelőség) with whom the CAFIA concluded an agreement on co-operation already in 2001 was strengthened. Bilateral co-operation was also strengthened by receiving foreign visits at the CAFIA. For instance, representatives of control authorities in the Netherlands, Hungary and Austria visited CAFIA during 2004.

3.2. International co-operation

Also in 2004 the CAFIA representatives participated in regular meetings of the FLEP forum (Food Law Enforcement Practitioners), an informal organization of control bodies in the food area in Europe. CAFIA experts participated in the work of several FLEP working groups, namely the working group for Strategies for Pesticides Control, and the working group for Managing on Effects. In October 2004, a new working group for Interpretation of Training for Food Industry was established, the head of which is a CAFIA representative.

The CAFIA representatives participated in the meeting of the Czech committee for co-operation with the FAO. In addition, the CAFIA co-operated with the Ministry of Agriculture of the CR in preparing for a meeting of the co-ordination working group for FAO to the EU Council and monitored activities of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, FAO and WHO common body, in the area of food safety. Both the representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and of the CAFIA participated in the meetings of working groups for Codex Alimentarius within the EU Council.

The CAFIA regularly monitored commitments resulting for the Czech Republic from the WTO Agreements and SPS notifications in the area of food safety, free movement of goods, and barriers to the international trade. One CAFIA representative took part in the meeting of SPS Committee of the WTO. With regard to the accession of the CR to the EU, the importance of monitoring third countries´ comments on notified EC legislation which became part of our legal order and monitoring of Member States´ notifications (including the CR) relating to measures that are not harmonized at the Community level increased. As regards measures notified by third countries, the CAFIA monitored whether in case of comments or bans on imports to third countries products are imported also to the Czech Republic, i.e. to the European Community.

In 2004, laboratories of the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority became a part of the “European Network of GMO Laboratories (ENGL). The CAFIA hereby gained access to databases of approved GMOs or GMOs that are in the process of approval, the possibility to obtain reference material, or to exchange experts. ENGL with its centre in Ispra, Italy, was established from originally informal association of top European laboratories dealing with issues concerning genetically modified organisms. In December 2002, the Network was in Brussels officially confirmed as a scientific workplace of the European Commission. Nowadays it associates 69 EU scientific laboratories.

The CAFIA, which has  fully equipped laboratory for tobacco analysis responded to the WHO invitation and enrolled for the network of laboratories for testing tobacco and tobacco products. The WHO creates a network of laboratories for tobacco controls to protect public health by performing laboratory analyses of existing tobacco products, both in the regional and global laboratory network.

In 2004, the expertise of CAFIA employees was also used at international level. In the middle of the year a CAFIA lawyer started one-year stay as a national expert at the European Commission, DG SANCO, Department of Law, and an employee of CAFIA laboratory started a long-term stay at the Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy. A CAFIA expert took part in a FVO mission to Poland focused on import controls of food of non-animal origin from third countries, and another expert took part in FVO mission in Rumania focused on the inspection of food safety, contaminants, pesticide residues, GMO, food hygiene, and on organic farming.

Based on the invitation of the Ministry of Agriculture, the CAFIA asked to be incorporated in the European Commission´s List of Mandated Bodies. The incorporation in this list will enable the CAFIA and its 22 appointed experts to be actively involved in twinning projects financed from EU sources and to delegate its experts abroad. The CAFIA can then work as a twinning partner or can take part in a twinning project of another Member State as a junior partner. The main area of CAFIA interest will be the food safety.