Access subdetails Control programmes

Control programmes

 

This section includes the official food safety control programmes for food establishments and foods produced or sold in the domestic market, grouped into four blocks in order to meet the PNCOCA 2016–2020 strategic objectives (2.1 to 2.4).

Programme content

These programmes describe official controls in the different phases and sectors of the food chain, covering all areas specified in the applicable regulations.

The control programmes encompass:

  • official controls carried out at food establishments to check compliance with regulations for food business operators;
  • official controls carried out on food products made available to consumers to check that the information supplied complies with legislation;
  • controls carried out on food products in order to reduce the presence of biological or chemical hazards in concentrations that may constitute a risk.

Programme structure

All the programmes have a similar structure and there are general requirements that are applicable to all control programmes. It is advisable to read these requirements prior to consulting the control programmes, in order to easier understand them.

Thematic blocks

The official controls carried out in food establishments, which usually consist in inspection visits and audits, are very different from the controls carried out on food products, which are usually done through sampling with or without laboratory analysis. For this reason, the control programmes are split into four clearly differentiated blocks.

Block I: Control programmes for food establishments

Block II: Food information and composition control programmes

Block III: Biological and chemical risk control programmes

Block IV: Market control and coordinated studies