Article 110 of Regulation (EU) No. 2017/625 states that the Multi-Annual National Control Plan (MANCP) shall be prepared to ensure that official controls are planned in all the areas governed by the rules referred to in Article 1(2) of the same Regulation.
Who does what
The competent authourites responsible for official controls in Ireland include:
- The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)
- The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA)
- The Environmental Health Service of the Health Service Executive (HSE EHS)
- The Marine Institute (MI)
- The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI)
- The State Laboratory
Each of these competent authorities has a service contract with the central competent authority, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
The following table highlights the competent authorities involved in official controls for various areas as identified by Article 1(2):
Competent Authorities involved in Official Controls
| Area | Central Competent Authority | Contracted Official Controls* | Non-Contracted Official Controls* | Coordination with DAFM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Food & Food Safety | FSAI | DAFM, SFPA, HSE LAVS, MI ,NSAI State Laboratory | ||
| (b) Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) | FSAI | DAFM | LAVS | |
| (c) Feed & Feed Safety | DAFM | SFPA | FSAI State Laboratory SFPA | |
| (d) Animal Health | DAFM | SFPA | FSAI, SFPA, LAVS ,MI | |
| (e) Animal By-products & derived products | DAFM | DAFM, LAVS | HSE | SFPA, HSE, LAVS |
| (f) Animal Welfare | DAFM | FSAI , LAVS | ||
| (g) Plant pests' protective measures | DAFM | |||
| (h) Plant protection products | DAFM | |||
| (i) Organic Production & Labelling | FSAI | DAFM, LAVS | SFPA | |
| (j) PDO, PGI & TSG | FSAI | DAFM, HSE |
*Contracted official controls means the agency or organisation carries out official controls in this area under a service contract it has agreed with the FSAI.
*Non contracted official controls means the agency or organisation carries out non-contracted official controls in this area. "Non-contracted" means official controls not covered by a service contract with the FSAI.
Article 6: Registration and Approval of Food Businesses
Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 outlines the requirement for all FBOs to register each establishment under their control with the appropriate competent authority. Some establishments will also require approval from their competent authority under Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, depending on their activities.
National Legislation
S.I. 22 of 2020 and S.I. 369 of 2006 are the pieces of national legislation that transpose EU Regulations 852/2004 and 853/2004. These statutory instruments each outline the scope of the types of food businesses that they apply to.
The FSAI and competent authorities involved in food law enforcement aim to have, where possible, a single inspectorate involved in official controls in each food business.
The FSAI hosts a cross-agency working group which deals with supervisory arrangements to ensure that there are no gaps in food law enforcement and to minimise overlaps in enforcement. The core principle of the supervisory group is that dual supervision of food businesses is avoided where possible.
In general, national legislation (S.I. 369 of 2006 and S.I. 22 of 2020) defines the competent authority responsible for the supervision of the business. However, for business categories not defined, the cross-agency working group has developed guidance for determining the appropriate competent authority.
This document, "Guidance for determining the supervising agency for Food Businesses," is available to all competent authorities via SafetyNet.
Supervisory Arrangements
For the most part, the following supervisory arrangements apply:
Products of Animal Origin
DAFM is responsible for official controls on certain products of animal origin, e.g., meat, milk, eggs, from primary production, through slaughter, processing, wholesale and distribution. DAFM is also responsible for official controls on imports from third countries of products of animal origin at border inspection posts (BIPs).
Official controls in slaughterhouses, meat processing, wholesale and distribution establishments is dependent on throughput as defined in S.I. 22 of 2020, the national legislation implementing Regulation (EC) No 853/2004. In general, DAFM is responsible for controls in establishments with a high throughput and the local authorities are responsible for controls in establishments with a low throughput.
Fish and Shellfish: The SFPA is responsible for official controls on fish and shellfish from primary production, through harvesting, processing, wholesale and distribution. The SFPA provides assistance to DAFM for official controls on imports from third countries of fish and shellfish.
The HSE EHS is responsible for official controls on products of animal origin at retail level and some establishments processing composite products containing products of animal origin.
Products of Non-animal Origin
DAFM is responsible for official controls during primary production and harvesting of foods of plant origin.
The HSE EHS is responsible for official controls on food products of non-animal origin at import, manufacturing, processing, wholesale, distribution and retail level. However, control of pesticide residues on imported foods of plant origin is a function of DAFM.
Composite Products
Establishments manufacturing composite products containing products of animal origin are currently supervised by one of a number of competent authorities, i.e., DAFM, the HSE EHS, local authorities or the SFPA depending on the exact nature and volume of product. Supervision is based on activities in establishments and determined in accordance with an agreed supervisory criteria document and/or legislation implementing Regulation 853/2004.
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