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
Context
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 3
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)
Suppliers of agriculture
(feed industry, raw materials, pesticides)
Agriculture Food industry
Wholesale business Retail
Hotels, Restaurants, Pubs Transport
Our goal : optimizing food chain checks
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 5
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)
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
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 7
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
Inspection Inspection
Inspection
National legislation
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 9
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
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)
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 11
Development of
(national) guides
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
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 13
Self checking guides - approval process
Role of guide managers
• Development
• Maintenance
• Promotion
• Training
• Follow-up of certifying bodies
• Cost covering activities
• Development of sector sampling plans
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 15
Validation and
certification of SCS
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, ..)
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 17
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’)
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 (%)
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 19
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
State of play (fully validated)
• Suppliers of primary production : 300
• Primary production : 8.400
• Transformation : 300
• Distribution : 320
• Horeca (hotels, restaurants, pubs, catering) : 170
21 Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010
Impact of SCS on
inspection results
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)
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 23
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%
Ex 1 : distribution of non satisfactory inspections
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 25
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
To determine the individual inspection frequency
(base/low/high) a risk profile is determined
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)
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 27
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
Thank you for your attention
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 29
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
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
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 31
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
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
Measuring food safety and comparing self checking systems - 17/11/2010 33
