• 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

4. Public Relations

In compliance with already initiated concept of external communication, the relations between the CAFIA and the public were developed on a principle of openness, truthfulness and timeliness of provided information in the course of 2004. The CAFIA aproach is based on Act No. 106/1999 Coll., on free access to information, and on some other regulations, and at the same time the CAFIA seeks to accommodate the general public with information beyond the framework of these legal rules.

In 2004, a total of 35 press releases were published that concerned not only the inspection results but also other areas of CAFIA activities, information about new legal rules and consumer advice. Two nationwide press conferences (3 April 2004 “Readiness of the CAFIA for the EU accession. Information system of the CAFIA for food control”, 3 December 2004 “Results of controls of the cheapest table wines”) and six press conferences in co-operation with regional councils (on the results of controls in particular regions) were realised. In the course of this period, 983 registered inquiries were answered; most of them (500) were from entrepreneurs, consumers (203), journalists (198) and various other bodies and institutions (82).  This list is far from being complete, because the CAFIA staff members solve a number of inquiries operatively on the phone or in person. In the course of 2004, 927 media entrances were registered that concerned the CAFIA activities and in which many CAFIA staff members participated.

As a tradition, the CAFIA actively participated in International Gastronomic Fair Trade – Salima 2004. In its information stand, the CAFIA specialists provided visitors and exhibitors with information and consumer advice.

Website

The CAFIA website (www.szpi.gov.cz) is an important device of external communication where all new and important information is published. In the course of 2004, the website content was extended and up-dated in connection with changes associated with the accession of the Czech Republic to the EU. New individual sections containing information about the EU, overview of chosen European legislation and specific issues concerning wine were added. The aim of creation of these new sections was, first of all, to facilitate orientation in new conditions after 1 May 2004 to the Czech entrepreneurs. Immediately after its creation, the section “Wine” registered significant interest and positive appraisal of users. Although this section was established only in August, it became one of the most visited.   

The “Information for Consumers” continues to be the most visited section in a long-term period, followed by “News” “Acts, Decrees”, “Press Releases”, “Approaches to the Inspection” and section “Wine”. Significant and continuous interest of users registered in the section offering employment at the CAFIA “Vacant positions”. The most read article, according to the number of users’ visits of website, was Act No. 106/1999 Coll., on free access to information, followed by article “Wine”, together with articles about laboratory activities and principles of the control activities of the CAFIA. It may be judged from the statistics that the website is mainly visited by consumers, entrepreneurs and mass media. Consumers are mainly interested in informational and educational articles, mass media mainly monitor press releases.
 

Chart 4.1. The Number of Unique Visits to the CAFIA Website

Chart 4.2. The Total Number of Visits of the CAFIA Website

Annotation: Repeated visits are not counted among the unique visits. The high number of repeated visits (total number of visits) shows that CAFIA website is visited regularly by a certain group of users who return to certain group of information.