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CAFIA carries out the food controls in order to ensure in an optimum way and with respect to the actual suggestions compliance with the legislation enforcing the surveillance activities. The permanent priority of controls carried out in 2001, as in previous years, was especially the food safety, i.e., the monitoring of microbiological requirements and requirements for the contents of contaminants, as well as adulterations.

The inspection, CAFIA focuses on, is a target inspection. It is performed on the basis of actual suggestions such as findings discovered by the inspectors in fieldwork, analyses of results of the previous inspections, notifications of other bodies of public service, media and consumers, etc. Such a type of control focuses on commodities and businessmen where the non-conformances can be expected. An inspection is carried out immediately after a suggestion is received and its immediate objective is to remove the non-conformance as soon as possible. To give an example of such a type of inspection performed in 2001, we can mention the analyses of fennel tea suspected of containing seeds of toxic thorn-apple, the inspection carried out in food for special dietary use claimed to be produced on the basis of extracts containing the MRL exceeding values of heavy metals, and others.

An entirely different method is applied while performing preventive inspections. They are mostly planned in a long-term perspective and their objective consists rather in monitoring, identification of the current situation, or in exerting efforts to avoid the non-conformances (in 2001 it was e.g. a large part of inspections in the production, planned control of microbiological requirements, etc.). Nevertheless, the preventive inspection is essentially a target inspection.

It is important to provide a correct interpretation of all results of the CAFIA control activities. The data given in this Report are not and cannot be taken as an indicator of the general standard of quality of food offered to consumers in the market. Nevertheless, they provide information about the latest trends in the area of food control, as accomplished by CAFIA.