the implementation of self checking systems in belgium · the implementation of self checking...

1

The implementation of self checking

systems in Belgium

Herman Diricks

Director-general Control Policy

Federal Agency

for the Safety

of the Food Chain

Content

• Context

• National legislation

• Development of (national) guides

• Validation and certification of SCS (self-checking

system)

• Impact of certified SCS on inspection results

Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 2

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Context


New food/feed policy since 2000

• Taking into account the principles of White Book on

Food Safety

• Reorganization of civil service in general and

inspection services in the food chain in particular

– One inspection service for the food chain: FASFC

– Independent risk assessment body (Scientific Committee of

the FASFC)

– Federal Public Service is responsible for standards

• Own financing of the FASFC

– Contributions (levy)

– Retributions (fees)


3

Suppliers

of agriculture

(feed industry, raw materials, pesticides)

Agriculture

Food industry

Wholesale business

Retail

Hotels, Restaurants, Pubs

Transport

Our goal : optimizing food chain checks


History of self checking I

• ‘Pre’-history

– Implementation of HACCP principles for good hygiene

practices based on hygiene directives (e.g. 93/43/EEC)

• Initial Business plan (December 2000)

– Intention to impose on FBO (food business operators) to

implement self checking systems (SCS) based on

registration of operators, traceability and mandatory

notification

– Establish priorities between sectors based on risk

– Impact on personnel and finance to be determined

• General Food Law (2002)


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History of self checking II

• National legislation on self checking (2003)

• Hygiene package

• Business plan 2005-2008

– Implementation Royal Decree (RD) on self checking

– Validation of self checking systems by the FASFC

– Calculated impact on inspection plan

– Evolution of the human resources is function of

certified/validated self checking systems

• Business plan 2009-2011


Implementation of self checking systems

With an independently certified self checking

system (SCS)

No independent guarantees

With a formally developed

scs

Without a formally

developed scs

Business operator of the food chain

accredited control bodies

External audit/

Testing/inspection

Information

FASFC

audit

audit

InspectionInspectionInspection


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National legislation


Royal Decree on self checking (2003)

• Based on General Food Law

• Impose self checking system for FBO

– Has to be implemented for food safety

– Optional for quality aspects

• Food and feedstuff

– Based on HACCP

• Traceability

• Mandatory notification (even for laboratories/certifying

bodies)

• Rules for developing and accepting guides

• Possibility to delegate validation of self checking

systems to inspection/certification bodies


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Ministerial Decree on implementation of

self checking in certain FBO (2005)

• Scope

– B to C : max 5 FTE’s or < 400 m2

– B to B : max 2 FTE’s

• If processing food/feed:

– Application of GHP

– CCP’s, corrective actions, critical values from guide

– Only NC’s have to be registrated

– Documentation on HACCP = guide

• Traceability

– Based on delivery notes or other accompanying doc’s

– Registration of data : within 7 d

– Archiving documents 6 months (after UB/BB date)


Development of

(national) guides


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Self checking guides - content

• Scope

• Consultation with all stakeholders

• Document resources

• Content : including all elements concerning :

– GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices)

– GHP (Good Hygienic Practices)

– HACCP (Hazard analysis and critical control points) *

– Legislation

• Certification rules

• Distribution of the guide* Food and feed not primary sector


Self checking guides - approval process


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Role of guide managers

• Development

• Maintenance

• Promotion

• Training

• Follow-up of certifying bodies

• Cost covering activities

• Development of sector sampling plans


Validation and

certification of SCS


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Terminology - audits vs inspections

‘Audit’

• On demand of the FBO

• Certifying body or

FASFC

• System audit

• Check-lists audits

‘Inspection’

• Initiative FASFC

• Prerogative FASFC

• Part of inspection plan

• Check-lists inspections

(hygiene, self checking

traceability, labeling, ..)


Motivators validation/certification

• Bonus on levy (contribution)

• Lower inspection frequencies based on an objective

calculation with an important weight for the presence

of a validated self checking system

– General policy

– Specific policy for processing plants using products of animal

origin

• Condition for export of certain products

to certain countries (e.g. meat Russia)

• B tot C : visual sign (‘Smiley’)


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State of play : approved guides

0,00%

10,00%

20,00%

30,00%

40,00%

50,00%

60,00%

70,00%

80,00%

90,00%

100,00%

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

number of approved guides

coverage (%)


State of play certification

• Guides complemented with

– Check-lists

– FAQ

– Guidelines for certification bodies

• Significant number of certification bodies approved for

the different guides

• Critical mass reached in some sectors

• Bonus / Malus in 2010 : 50/60% (2011 : 50/100%)

• From design to maintenance of the guides

– Commitment of sectors

– Attention needed for small & medium sized business operators


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State of play (fully validated)

• Suppliers of primary production : 300

• Primary production : 8.400

• Transformation : 300

• Distribution : 320

• Horeca (hotels, restaurants, pubs, catering) : 170

21Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010

Impact of SCS on

inspection results


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2 examples

• Comparison of inspection results (expressed as

results of check-lists) of operators with or without

validated SCS year 2010

• Comparison of inspection results of processing plants

of certain products of animal origin (used in

calculating risk profiles) for the year 2008/2009

(implementing RD 22/12/05)


Example 1 : impact of validated SCS on

inspection results

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

with without

unsatisfactory 3% 18%

satisfactory with remarks 9% 19%

satisfactory 88% 64%


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Ex 1 : distribution of non satisfactory

inspections


Type checklist total non satisf% non satisf

validated SCS

ban on smoking 22 0,00 %

usage of pesticides 1139 113 4,17 %

fytosanitary inspections 291 21 0,81 %

animal health 699 21 0,80 %

transport 238 9 0,66 %

animal welfare 2460 55 0,62 %

labelling and packaging 946 39 0,56 %

self checking 663 58 0,54 %

infrastructure and hygiene 3590 167 0,50 %

epidemiogical surveillance 1195 14 0,33 %

waste management (1774) 489 10 0,31 %

Medicines and guidance 1319 16 0,31 %

packaging materials 45 3 0,30 %

traceability 3589 41 0,18 %

notification 1754 9 0,06 %

18500 576 3,11 %

Type checklist total non satisf% non satisf

non validated SCS

self checking 10077 4984 46,41 %

infrastructure and hygiene 29646 9087 27,34 %

ban on smoking 11307 1539 13,58 %

usage of pesticides 1570 263 9,71 %

labelling and packaging 5977 595 8,59 %

traceability 19203 1799 7,89 %

waste management (1774) 2701 189 5,92 %

packaging materials 958 52 5,18 %

notification 12112 524 3,78 %

transport 1134 49 3,57 %

animal health 1931 90 3,42 %

fytosanitary inspections 2300 75 2,89 %

infrastructure and hygiene (approval)

298 9 2,87 %

epidemiogical surveillance 3013 113 2,69 %

Medicines and guidance 3876 115 2,21 %

animal welfare 6369 188 2,13 %

other 266 4 1,29 %

112741 19675 17,45 %

Ex 2 : inspection results in certain

processing plants

26Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems -17/11/2010

To determine the individual

inspection frequency

(base/low/high) a risk profile is

determined

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0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29

weighted average NC

NC inspections (cumul)


0%5%

10%15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

weighted average NC

NC inspections(%)

non validated

validated

Ex 2 : Results of inspections

Results of different inspection check lists for different activities

are weighted and translated into one value.

Business plan 2009-2011

• Improve financial incentives

• Redirect inspections towards FBO without SCS

• Develop specific communication towards sectors with

FBO without SCS

• Guides remain references but have to evolve

• Take into account specific needs of small and

medium enterprises

• Promote through training

� Facilitate complementarities between guides and

commercial standards such as GMP


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Thank you for your attention


Abbreviations

• BB : Best before

• B to B : business to business

• B to C : business to consumer

• CCP : Critical control point

• FASFC : Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain

• FBO : Food Business operators

• FTE : full time equivalent

• GHP : Good Hygiene Practices

• GMP : Good Manufacturing Practices

• HACCP : Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points

• NC : non conformity

• RD : Royal decree

• SCS : self-checking systems

• UB : use-by date


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List of approved guides

• G-001 Guide on feed

• G-002 Guide on diary products

• G-003 Guide on butchers

• G-004 Guide on brewers

• G-005 Guide on ice cream

• G-006 Guide on poultry slaughterhouses and cutting plants

• G-007 Guide on food retail trade

• G-009 Guide on transport and storage of raw milk

• G-010 Guide on pesticides

• G-011 Guide on food supplements

• G-012 Guide on primary plant production

• G-014 Guide on processing and trade of potatoes, fruit and

vegetables

• G-017 Guide on transport by road and storage of food


List of approved guides

• G-018 Guide on slaughterhouses and cutting plants for fat stock

• G-019 Guide on meat products/ ready to eat / salads

• G-020 Guide on mills

• G-022 Guide on chocolate, biscuit and confectionery

• G-023 Guide on catering business

• G-025 Guide on collectivity kitchens

• G-026 Guide on bakers

• G-027 Guide on coffee-roasting houses

• G-028 Guide on organic fertilizers

• G-029 Guide on water, soft drinks

• G-030 Guide on apiculture

• G-033 Guide on contractors

• G-036 Guide on potting compost

• G-037 Guide on primary animal production

• G-038 Guide on trade of cereals and agrosuppliesMeasuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 32

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Belgian legislation

• Royal decree 14/11/2004 concerning self-checking,

mandatory notification and traceability in the food

chain

• Ministerial decree 24/10/2005 concerning the

relaxation of requirements relative to self-checking an

traceability in certain businesses of the foodstuff

sector

• Royal decree 22/12/05 fixing inspection frequencies

for the food business operators of the meat and fish

sector in the inspection program of the Agency,

necessitating the presence of an inspector of the

Agency


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