LegalizeCommission Implementing Decision (EU) 2020/1550 of 23 October 2020 establishing the multiannual programme of controls for the period 2021-2025 to be carried out by Commission experts in the Member States to verify the application of Union agri-food chain legislation
Article 1
The multiannual programme of controls for the period 2021-2025 to be carried out by Commission experts in the Member States as provided for in Article 116(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 is set out in the Annex.
Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
ANNEX
This Annex sets out the programme of controls to be carried out by Commission experts in the Member States in areas covered by Regulation (EU) 2017/625 for the period 2021-2025.
For the period concerned, the Commission has identified certain priority areas within the areas of food and feed safety, food quality, animal health and welfare, plant health, plant protection products, entry into the Union of animals and goods from third countries, antimicrobial resistance and general aspects within the agri-food chain (including the functioning of national control systems and competent authorities).
The Commission controls in Member States shall cover the areas set out in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625. Specific issues covered by individual controls shall be adapted to the situation in each Member State.
Commission experts shall carry out controls, including, audits, in accordance with Article 116 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625.
The multiannual programme for Commission controls in Member States for the period 2021-2025 to verify the application of the rules in the areas covered by Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 covers also other areas provided for in that Regulation, such as fraud and import controls. Not all priority areas result in a specific series of controls. Some are addressed under a more general series of controls, such as, for instance, aspects of animal welfare at the time of slaughter covered, where relevant, as part of the food of animal origin controls and compliance of border control posts covered as part of the official controls on animals and goods.
Chapters 1 to 10 of this Annex set out the multiannual programme of controls broken down by priority area and specific objective. Chapter 11 sets out the programme of controls for 2025.
1. Food and food safety
| Priority area | Specific Objectives |
|---|---|
| Food of animal origin (e.g. safety of meat of mammals and birds and products thereof, milk and products thereof, fishery products and production hygiene of live bivalve molluscs) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union food safety legislation governing the production and placing on the market of food of animal origin (covering also traceability and labelling), with a particular focus on meat of mammals and birds and products thereof, milk and products thereof, fishery products, and live bivalve molluscs, and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
| Foodborne zoonoses (e.g. Salmonella) | To verify Member States’ national veterinary programmes co-funded by the Commission and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
| Food of non-animal origin (e.g. safety of fruit and vegetables, herbs, spices and sprouts) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union food safety legislation governing the production and placing on the market of food of non-animal origin (covering also traceability and labelling), with a particular focus on microbiological safety, and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
| Residues in live animals and food of animal origin (residues of veterinary medicinal products, pesticides and contaminants) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing residues of veterinary medicinal products, pesticides and contaminants in live animals and food of animal origin. |
| Contaminants in food of non-animal origin (e.g. mycotoxins) | To verify, based on Member States’ multiannual national control plans and reports thereon, that official controls on contaminants in food of non-animal origin comply with the requirements laid down in the relevant applicable Union legislation. |
2. Feed and feed safety
| Priority area | Specific Objectives |
|---|---|
| General feed hygiene (feed hygiene, approval and registration of establishments, traceability, labelling and contaminants) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing feed hygiene (with a particular focus on feed hygiene, approval and registration of establishments, contaminants, traceability and labelling) and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
| Medicated feed | To verify Member States’ compliance with the Union legal requirements governing the production of medicated feed, applicable from January 2022. |
| Animal by-products and derived products (meat sector, processing plants) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing the handling, use and disposal of animal by-products and derived products generated in the Union or placed on the Union market and the implementation of official controls thereon, with a particular focus on the meat sector and processing plants. |
3. Animal health
| Priority area | Specific Objectives |
|---|---|
| Category A diseases under Regulation (EU) 2016/429 (e.g. African swine fever, highly pathogenic avian influenza) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing the control of the major active animal diseases, such as African swine fever and highly pathogenic avian influenza, and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
| Non-foodborne zoonoses (e.g. rabies) | To check Member States’ capacity to detect, monitor and control relevant non-foodborne zoonoses. |
| Category B and C diseases under Regulation (EU) 2016/429 (e.g. tuberculosis, brucellosis) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing the control of enzootic diseases, with a particular focus on the level of implementation and effectiveness of the national veterinary programmes co-funded by the Commission, and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
| Preparedness and prevention (e.g. contingency planning) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing preparedness to cope with multiple outbreaks of epizootic diseases and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
4. Animal welfare
| Priority area | Specific Objectives |
|---|---|
| Transport (e.g. unfit animals, livestock vessels, unweaned calves, control posts used for animal transit) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing animal welfare during transport, with a particular focus on unfit animals, livestock vessels, unweaned calves and control posts used for animal transit, and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
| On farm (e.g. laying hens) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing the welfare of animals during rearing and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
| Slaughter (e.g. ruminants, poultry) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing the welfare of ruminants and poultry at slaughter, and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
5. Plant health
| Priority area | Specific Objectives |
|---|---|
| Plant pest outbreaks (presenting a significant threat) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing the control of plant pests found on the Union territory, with a particular focus on pests presenting a significant threat, for example, Xylella fastidiosa, tomato brown rugose fruit virus, pinewood nematode, anoplophora long-horn beetles, trioza and other harmful organisms identified as a priority and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
| Preparedness and prevention (e.g. contingency planning, plant health survey programmes) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing the drawing up and update of plant health contingency plans. To assess the planning and implementation of survey programmes for priority and other quarantine pests under Plant Health Law. |
| Movement of plants, plant products and other objects within the Union (plant passports) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union plant health legislation governing the movement of plants, plant products and other objects within the Union, with a particular focus on plant passports, and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
6. Placing on the market and use of plant protection products and the sustainable use of pesticides
| Priority area | Specific Objectives |
|---|---|
| Plant protection products (authorisation, marketing and use of pesticides, pesticides residues) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing the authorisation, marketing and use of plant protection products and pesticide residues, and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
| Sustainable use of pesticides | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing the sustainable use of pesticides, and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
7. Food quality
| Priority area | Specific Objectives |
|---|---|
| Organic farming | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing the production and labelling of organic products, and the implementation of official controls thereon. |
| ————— | ————— |
8. Entry into the Union of animals and goods from third countries
| Priority area | Specific Objectives |
|---|---|
| Official controls on animals and goods | To verify that Member States meet their obligations with regard to conducting official controls on animals and goods entering the Union from third countries. To verify that animals and goods entering the Union from third countries comply with the applicable general and specific Union requirements for entry into the Union. There will be a special focus on rules established by Regulation (EU) 2017/625 and related delegated and implementing acts. |
| Compliance of border control posts | To verify that border control posts proposed for designation by Member States comply with the minimum requirements for border control posts including inspection centres laid down in the applicable Union legislation before such posts are designated. To verify that border inspection posts, designated points of entry, points of entry and first points of introduction re-designated in accordance with Article 61(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 comply with the applicable minimum requirements. To verify that control points other than border control posts, referred to in Article 53(1), point (a), of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, comply with the applicable minimum requirements. |
| Official plant health controls | To verify that Member States meet their obligations with regard to conducting official plant health controls on plants, plant products and other objects entering the Union from third countries. To provide assurances that plants, plant products and other objects entering the Union from third countries comply with the applicable Union plant health requirements for entry into the Union. |
9. Antimicrobial resistance
| Priority area | Specific Objectives |
|---|---|
| Monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic and commensal bacteria | To verify Member States’ compliance with the legislation governing the monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic and commensal bacteria and by this contribute to the full implementation of the 2017 European One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) [^E0001]. |
Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament, ‘A European One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)’, COM(2017) 339 final, 29.6.2017.
10. General aspects within the agri-food chain
| Priority area | Specific Objectives |
|---|---|
| Fraud | To collect information on the suitability and effective implementation of national arrangements to fight fraud along the agri-food chain in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/625. |
| Follow-up of audit recommendations (sectoral and general) | To verify that Member States take appropriate follow-up measures to remedy any specific or systematic shortcomings identified by Commission controls. |
| Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) (e.g. authorisation, marketing, traceability, labelling) | To verify Member States’ compliance with the applicable Union legislation governing the authorisation and marketing of Genetically Modified Organisms, their traceability and labelling in food and feed and the implementation of official controls thereon. To contribute to and build up expertise on enforcement in relation to products obtained by new genomic techniques. |
| Any emergency situations, emerging problems and new developments | To investigate and collect information in relation to any emergency situations, emerging problems or new developments in the Member States. |
11. Programme of controls for 2025
| Area | Priority area | Focus in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Food & food safety | Food of animal origin | Safety of meat of mammals and birds and products thereof Safety of milk and products thereof Safety of fishery products |
| Food & food safety | Food of non-animal origin | Microbiological safety |
| Food & food safety | Residues in live animals and food of animal origin | Chemical safety – residues |
| Feed & feed safety | Feed safety | Feed hygiene |
| Feed & feed safety | Feed safety | Medicated feed |
| Feed & feed safety | Feed safety | Animal by-products and derived products |
| Animal health | Category A diseases under Regulation (EU) 2016/429 | African swine fever Highly pathogenic avian influenza |
| Animal health | Category B and C diseases under Regulation (EU) 2016/429 | Monitoring system for category B and C diseases |
| Animal health | Preparedness & prevention | Contingency planning covered during African swine fever and highly pathogenic avian influenza audits Highly pathogenic avian influenza (One Health) Pandemic transmission pathways (One Health) |
| Animal welfare | Slaughter | Ruminants and poultry |
| Animal welfare | Transport | Livestock vessels |
| Plant health | Plant pest outbreaks | Plant pest outbreaks presenting a significant threat |
| Plant health | Preparedness and prevention | Plant health survey programmes |
| Plant health | Preparedness and prevention | Contingency planning |
| PPP & SUD | Plant protection products (PPP) | Chemical safety (authorisation, marketing and use of pesticides) Sustainable use of pesticides |
| Food quality | Organic farming | Organic farming |
| Entry into the Union of animals and goods from third countries | Official controls on animals and goods | Animals and goods |
| AMR | Monitoring of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in zoonotic and commensal bacteria | AMR in zoonotic and commensal bacteria |
| General aspects within the agri-food chain | Follow-up of audit recommendations | General and sectoral follow-up of audit recommendations |
| General aspects within the agri-food chain | Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) | GMOs |
| General aspects within the agri-food chain | Any emergency situations, emerging problems and new developments | Emergency situations, emerging problems and new developments |
Reading this document does not replace reading the official text published in the Official Journal of the European Union. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies arising from the conversion of the original to this format.
This text is published under EUR-Lex's own terms of reuse, not a Legalize or public-domain licence.
EUR-Lex
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
© European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu — Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the European Union). Reused under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Only EU legislation published in the printed Official Journal of the European Union is deemed authentic; consolidated texts are reproduced here for documentation purposes and have been reformatted to Markdown.