Task Force Food Safety Hessen
| Task Force Food Safety Hessen | |
|---|---|
| Seat | RP Darmstadt |
| founding | 2006 |
| Website | Homepage |
The Food Safety Task Force is a special unit set up by the Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture and Consumer Protection in 2006 in the wake of the rotten meat scandal . It is located at the Darmstadt Regional Council.
construction
The unit operates nationwide in Hessen . It consists of an interdisciplinary team that includes food chemists , official veterinarians , food inspectors , a lawyer and administrative employees.
tasks
The task force is to provide local authorities with personnel and technical support on request in times of crisis and current problems in the field of food safety .
- In the event of outbreaks of disease caused by food, she supports the responsible authorities in clarifying the causes. In the case of large and cross-district infection events , such as the EHEC outbreak in May and June 2011 or the norovirus outbreak in September / October 2012, she coordinates the activities of the authorities involved on behalf of the Hessian Ministry of Consumer Protection, collates the results of the investigation and evaluates them out.
- It contributes to strengthening consumer protection in Hessen through control programs, the focus of which changes every year . For example, in the course of the rotten meat scandal, the Hessian deep-freeze stores were scrutinized. In 2009 and 2010, food transport vehicles were checked nationwide at motorway service areas, along federal and state roads or in the vicinity of wholesale markets and industrial areas.
- It supports the Hessian food control authorities of the districts and cities with operational controls, for example when it comes to particularly large or complex companies or in the context of criminal investigations and provides legal advice.
- It acts as a liaison between the various authorities in charge of food safety. With the aim of preventing and punishing such violations of the law more effectively, it organizes training events and working meetings between representatives of the public prosecutor's offices , the police and employees from the food control department.
- It develops concepts that increase food safety in Hessen and thereby strengthen the quality and effectiveness of official food monitoring and consumer protection.
- She works closely with the Hessian state contact point in the European rapid alert system for food and feed at the RP Darmstadt . Through the exchange of data, the EU member states inform each other in the rapid alert system about determinations of food and consumer goods if these pose a risk to human health and they are in traffic in several EU member states.
- In the event of corresponding complaints from federal states and EU member states or federal states, it is determined whether Hessen is affected and any necessary measures are taken. In the event of complaints from Hessen itself, the task force collects all relevant information and informs the other EU member states via the federal and EU contact point.