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PRESS CONFERENCE

„Readiness of Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority  for the accession to the EU“

„CAFIA information system for food inspection“

4th March 2004

In cooperation with:
Trade Fairs Brno
Starobrno brewery, Brno

„CAFIA Information System for food inspection”

“Readiness of Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection for the accession to the EU”

For several years the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection has been preparing for the accession to the EU. This preparation comprises of a whole range of steps which targets are above all, to make the inspection´s activity more effective.

Information system for food inspection

One of the basic stones of the preparation is to develop information and communication system which makes in particular inspections and laboratory activities more effective. However, there are also other systems based on this method (for example personal, wage system and so on). CAFIA Information System – Inspections and Laboratory Activity enables inspectors, laboratory and other employees, above all to accelerate the process of inspection including following operations in CAFIA laboratories.

Mobile offices for inspectors

The inspectors are equiped with so called mobile offices. Always a couple of inspectors has at his disposal notebook with a printer and mobile phone with data transmission. This allows them to be wherever within the Czech Republic on-line connected with central server into which the data are being continuously saved. Inspectors can on the place of inspection fill up appropriate statements and note down the data of samples taken. They can whenever draw information, saved in the system or company intranet, necessary for the evalution of the situation. The system also enables to print the statements and hand them over to the person inspected. By means of this system the appropriate laboratory has already during the samplig at its disposal data necessery for further analysis. This allows, in case of need, to operatively prepare for necessary analysis which results are then saved into the system. All data acquired can by used by other empolyees for the need of Inspection.

Link with Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed and project Phare

Getting started this system with a link with European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed is of great importance. Since 2003 CAFIA is as an office supervising food a participant in the whole system and at the same time was designated ass national contact point for the Czech Republic – it works as a central point for receiving and sending information about unsafe food and feed on the Czech and European market. CAFIA Information System – Inspections and Laboratory Activity markedly accelerate the whole process of information transmission.

Project Phare

Within the CAFIA´s project Phare “Strenghtening Food Safety Policy” initiated in April 2003, will be created a common Information system of supervisory authorities supervising food and feed safety in the Czech Republic. One of his part will be already developed CAFIA Information System. The project includes not only this Information System but also staff education, ISO introduction, follow-up office certification and generally contributes to the development of organization. This project is not the first one CAFIA has realized. In previous years, the financial help from EU has been directed at furnishing laboratories with laboratory facilities, updating the IT and staff and Czech food producers education.

System of “county inspectors”

CAFIA has at present time altogether seven regional offices with territorial competences always for two regions. To improve the efficiency of inspection in the region, the system of county inspectors has been developed. Inspectors drive out straight from their homes to carry out the inspection. Thanks to this CAFIA can make use of easier time availability of inspectors and their personal knowledge of the landscape. A big number of inspectors uses on the bases of contracts on utilization of private cars for bussines purposes, for the work their private cars. After one year experience with this system and detailed analysis we can claim that the inspectors´ activity is much more effective and the inspection is faster and more goal-directed. Time which the inspector had spent by travelling to the place of inspection is now much shorter and the inspectors can make use of it for the actual inspection activity.

Less own laboratories

In the course of previous year CAFIA reduced the number of its own laboratories, exactly from seven on two technically and personally very well equiped specialized laboratories and another two designated entirely for microbiological analysis. All laboratories are accredited. If the need arises, the inspection uses external domestic or foreign offices.

CAFIA´s experts in the structures of EU

Since April 2003 CAFIA´s experts have been participating in negotiations of European Commission and EU Council working groups and committees. Until now it has been nominated into this 26 working authorities 19 experts who actively participate in negotiations on behalf of the Czech Republic in the role of observers. For example in expert committee – in working group for agriculture contaminant substances or in the regulation committee for Commission – committee for security of geographical labelling and label of origin.

CAFIA recognizes the importance of these activities and therefore trains its experts in language skills as well as in the skills of active negotiating. The possibility of active access to the meetings gave the experts a chance to penetrate into the culture of negotiations at these meetings providing them also with an access to information “from the source”about the intended changes and current development in given areas of food safety , and finally, also a chance to influence directly the results of the decision-making process at European level in the near future.

International cooperation

Monitoring of EC activities in the area of food safety, European Food Safety Authority and the actual development in European food law has became an obvious part of CAFIA activities. CAFIA inspectors participated not only in international conferences and seminars but also in working negotiations which proceed for example within informal Food Law Enforcement Practitioners (FLEP). Last year CAFIA took part in activities of seven FLEP working groups. From bilateral relationships we can mention for example strenghtening of cooperation with Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) or making declaration on cooperation with Inspection Office for Spanish Foreign trade.

Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority

Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA) is a state administration body subordinate to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. CAFIA supervises whether the food offered to comsumers is safe and of the appropriate quality and whether the information provided on the label is correct and not misleading. CAFIA carries out inspections on the premises of natural and legal persons who bring the food into circulation – from producers and importers over distributors to selling officials. CAFIA carries out not only food inspection but also raw materials designated for their production, tobacco, soap maker´s products and detergents. CAFIA follows the legislation of the Act on Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority, Act on Foodstuffs and Tobacco Products, Act on Viticulture and Viniculture, Act on Consumer Protection and some others.

CAFIA report for 2003

CAFIA priority is in the long term food safety inspection. In 2003 the inspections were in particular focused on food safety and quality, correct labelling, food adulteration and isnpection of binding requirement observation.

In 2003 the CAFIA inspectors perfomed the total of 19966 individual inspections from which 10984 were carried out in retail network, 7357 in the production, 1583 in high-capacity warehouses and 42 at other facilities.

CAFIA imposed 1707 penalties in adminstrative proceedings, totalling 11,029,200 CZK. In respect to the Act No.146/2002 Coll, on Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection enabled since 1. January 2003 to impose measure to remedy the defects without instituting administrative procedure, CAFIA has not imposed the penalties so often as in previous years.

The total of 10,215 prohibitions to place foodstuffs and tobacco products on the market were imposed; their total value amounted to 17,722,114 CZK. Out of above number the share from production amounted to 1,153,608 CZK and the share from trade network amounted to 16,568,506 CZK.
In 2003 CAFIA succesfully continued in the area of international activities. CAFIA employees took part in a big number of international negotiations and professional seminars and confrences.

Project Phare “Streinghtening Food Safety Policy” initiated in April 2003, focused on CAFIA development by way of training and consultancy, enhanced processes in the organization achieved by introducing the ISO 9001:2000 standard and CAFIA certification, and the establishment of common information system of supervisory bodies in the area of the food safety. The CAFIA participated actively i the Phare project – “Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights”, implemented by the Industrial Property Office. Also in 2003 CAFIA experts continued in Quid Thematic Network project.