The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority managed another intervention against dangerous foodstuffs. More than a month has passed since a food supplement with the disallowed substance tadalafil has been revealed and the inspection had to solve three other similar cases.

The biggest number of inspections is carried out by the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA) directly in the shops. In case of foodstuffs of plant origin also production, transport and import from third countries are controlled. Within the scope of import control the CAFIA inspectors carry out inspection both directly at the border and on the domestic market in the premises of importers.

The advance in scientific research, innovation development and also globalization caused that consumers may come across foodstuffs with which they had not been familiar so far. As early as 1997, the European Union prescribed an approval procedure for novel foods that they have to undergo before they are first introduced on the market.

Since September of the previous year, the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority has been carrying out inspections focused on foodstuffs originating from China because of possible occurence of melamine.

The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority continues in increasing efficiency of its control activities. This results in gradual reduction of administration connected with supervision, increasing the effectivity of the information system where all data is entered, as well as permanent accent on training of inspectors. Activities carried out in 2008 reflect such effort

The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority banned sale of the food supplement ErMax Plus intended for enhancing potency (expiry date: November 2011) because it contained tadalafil, a substance which is forbidden for use in foodstuffs.

The project of the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority and its Slovak counterpart the State Veterinary and Food Administration was launched today by the initial conference held in Trenčianské Teplice. The aim of the project is to enhance cooperation and establish personal contacts between inspectors in cross-border regions of the Slovak and Czech Republic in the filed of official food inspection. The project is funded mainly by the European Fund for Regional Development.

Czech Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA) did not release onto the market a consignment of peanuts in which an excessive amount of aflatoxins was revealed by laboratory analyses. The consignment in total weight of 20 tonnes contained 800 sacks of shelled unroasted peanuts of Chinese origin.

CAFIA launched a new version of its websites on www.szpi.gov.cz. At the first glance, they seem to differ only slightly from the previous version, nevertheless, they incorporate a significant modification for handicapped users.

In connection with the case of Irish meat contamined with dioxins, the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority examined the origin of packaged jointed meat marketed in retail chains.