In the previous period, the CAFIA inspectors carried out 31,807 individual inspections: 18,002 in the retail network; 10,174 in production; 3,488 in wholesale; and 143 in other venues (for example, in restaurants). The increased number of inspections in production compared to 1999 (when a total of 4,623 inspections had been made) was particularly in connection with controlling the introduction of the critical point system; these inspections were commenced as of January 1, 2000. During the inspections, a total of 10,875 unsatisfactory food samples and tobacco products were found that did not comply with the legal requirements for food safety, quality, or labelling.

As for the individual commodities, the highest number of unsatisfactory samples were found in the area of fresh vegetables; spirits and alcoholic beverages; grape wine; fresh fruit; delicatessen products; pastry products; meat and meat products; and bakery products. A relatively high number of unsatisfactory samples within the above fields were also due to more focused attention on these commodities, as they were largely represented in the market, or they required more attention due to a higher safety risk.

Regarding the place of sampling, the majority of non-conforming samples were found in the retail network: 8,583 samples. In production, 1,531 non-conforming samples were detected; 689 in production; and 72 in other places. When interpreting this outcome, it is necessary to consider that there is a large number of sales points, selling a wide range of products. It is therefore natural that a higher number of non-conforming samples were found in the retail sphere than in production or wholesaling