Food chain safety - AFSCA

Food chain safety - AFSCA

 

The Federal Food Chain Safety Agency (FFCSA) oversees the safety of the food chain and food quality so as to safeguard human, animals and plant health.

Inspection officers (veterinary surgeons, engineers, technical experts for food or manufacturing) monitor the "primary" (farms, potato fields ...), "processing and manufacturing" sectors (food industries) and " distribution" sectors". In Walloon Brabant, the distribution industry represents 1,900 cafés, hotels and restaurants, caterers and institutional food services (school canteens, hospital cafeterias ...) as well as 1,600 wholesalers, hypermarkets and retailers (plus itinerant salespersons at markets and fairs).

Inspection visits

 

The inspection officers obviously pay their visits without any warning. The samples they take are kept in the unit's refrigerators and freezers. A shuttle service is used every day to deliver these samples to the competent laboratories for analysis. The findings are available within 48 hours to a maximum of 5-6 days. When the results are positive, immediate action is taken: the contaminated products are seized, a ban is placed on any further sales, a ban is placed on any further operations or the business is closed down, a press release is issued to notify consumers about the contaminated products they have bought.

An unhygienic restaurant?

 

The FFCSA officers also respond to complaints. A piece of rubber in a waffle, a pizza making you feel quite queasy ... do not hesitate to take any sample you might have to be analysed by the  Ottignies unit so as to avoid other consumers having to suffer the same fate. Similarly, if a restaurant strikes you as being a bit unsavoury... or if the meal being served looks a bit suspicious... you can report it by using the helpdesk freephone on 0800 / 13 550. And if you are sold a product which is past its sell-by date