titel

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Danish Food Safety APRIL 2004 by MAJA
HOLFORT Danish Veterinary and Food
Administration Ministry of Family and Consumer
Affairs Denmark
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• Content of Presentation
• Aim, history and organisation
• Principles of food inspection
• Openness and transparency
• Relationship to the food industry
• International affairs
• The stable to table approach
• Veterinary level and food safety

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Food Safety and Animal Health Introduction

• The Danish government gives top priority to food
  safety and consumer protection
• Farmers and food business operators carry full
  responsibility for product safety
• Public control of food and animals must be
  efficient, transparent and reliable

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The Food Safety Reform in Denmark

• A Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries
  was created in 1996
• Formation of the Danish Veterinary and Food
  Administration in 1997
• The new Food Act passed in 1998
• The coherent local control system started
  1January 2000

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A new Ministry of Family and Consumer
Affairsfebruar 2005

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The Ministry has Among its Aims to

• Increase consumer protection
• Improve communication with consumers and the
  food industry on nutrition and food safety
• Create a coherent control systemFrom Farm to
  Fork/ From Stable to Table
• Secure confidence in Danish export products

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Risk Management/Communication
Risk assesment/Comm
Danish Institute for Food and Veterinary
Research
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DVFA Central Administration Copenhagen

• DVFA is the complaint board
• DVFA implements the EC legislation into Danish
  legislation with related guidelines
• DVFA co-ordinates the food control and carries
  out training programs for the regional staff
• DVFA organizes country-wide campaigns
• DVFA assesses the performance of the regional
  unit with regard to food control by visiting
  each unit

 
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Regional Structure Permanent staff 1900

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The Regional Units shall carry out Activities
within the Following Areas

• Control and supervision in accordance with the
  Food Act
• Control and supervision in accordance with the
  legislation on animal health and zoonoses
• Duties pertaining to approval of industries
• Supervision of veterinary practitioners
• Perform control and other inspection, including
  laboratory activities
• General administration of legislation
• Provide information and advice for consumers,
  farmers, industrial companies and veterinary
  practitioners

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Principles of Food Inspection

• The responsibility for the compliance with the
  requirements in Danish legislation is within the
  primary producer and the establishment
• The primary producer and the establishment must
  establish own-check programe based on HACCP

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Principles of Food Inspection

• The regional unit will verify the effectiveness
  of the own check programme by auditing
• The inspection is preventive and regular
• The establishment is under permanent supervision
  by the regional unit.

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Openness and Transparency
  Open and active administration
contributing to the public debate at a factual
level


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Communication with Consumers and Industry

• The Ministers Advisory Board
• Public hearings on all new regulations
• Open discussion and day to day
• corporation e.g. on alert matters
• The administration is always open
• for discussion
• Open and transparent administration
• secures the independence of the
• administration

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Danish Food Companies
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International Affairs

• EU
• Codex Alimentarius
• EC
• Nordic Council of Ministers
• WHO
• OIE
• WTO

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International Co-operation

• DK plays an active role in the relevant
  international fora involved in international
  standard setting concerning food safety.
• The umbrella for international trade rules is
  the WTO
• The WTO-agreements represent a milestone in the
  global trading system
• These agreements provide guidance and establish
  the trade rules that member states must follow
  for the purpose of liberalizing trade

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Food Safety documentation Examples Inspectors
manual, Sector GMP and HACCP Manuals

  
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Political Focus and Efforts on

• Micro-organisms harmful to health
• Pesticide residues
• Pollution
• Veterinary medicine residues
• Food additives
• Dioxin
• Misleding advertising

  
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Surveillance - Number of BSE-tests 2001-2004
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From Stable to Table - Salmonella

• It is inevitable to include the primary producers
  in order to
• gain control over the hygiene of production of
  the end
• products. Denmark has made plans for controlling
  and
• decreasing the amount of Salmonella in different
• foodstuffs
• Salmonella in poultry and eggs
• Salmonella in pork
• Salmonella Dublin in beef
• Salmonella DT 104

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Estimated Major Sources of Human Salmonellosis in
Denmark, 1988-2002

Danish Zoonosis Center
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Human Campylobacter Cases Cumulated Weekly Data
Danish Zoonosis Center
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Use of Veterinary Medicine

• Medicine Must be registered
• Only from authorized pharmacies
• Only as prescription medicine
• Prescription medicine only by the
• veterinarian who diagnosed the animals
• Ban on use of antimicrobials for growth
• promotions
• Antibiotics chosen in a narrow spectrum
• Any use of medicine is reported to an
• official register Vetstat.

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Danish Result of Targeted Sampling of Meat 2003

• 10 positive results
• 1 positive result due to pharmacological
  treatments (malachite green in farm trout)
• 9 positives from environmental pollution (heavy
  metals or mycotoxins)
• The low frequency (1 out of 16.000 samples) is
  the best in the EU

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Pesticide Residues in Fruit, 2002 Danish For
eign but also Foreign and not produced in
Denmark produced in Denmark


  
Without residues 59
Without residues 26
Without residues 28
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Dioxin Findings in Fish Precautionary
Principle in Practice

• Herring Results from Baltic Sea (May 2004)
  Eastern Baltic must be expected to exceed the
  max. limitWestern Baltic does not exceed the
  max. limit.
• Ban fishing and trade (sub area 25-32) by 1/6-04.
  
• Salmon Results from Baltic Sea (March
  2004)Salmon must be expected to exceed the max.
  limit.
• Ban fishing and trade by 8/4-04.
• Results from Baltic Sea (June 2004) showed that
  salmon above
• 4,4 kg uncleaned weight 4 kg cleaned weight, is
  expected
• to exceed the max. limit.
• Ban fishing and trade below the mentioned weight
  can
• be lifted by 16/9-04 when the quota reopens.

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Conclusion

• The food safety reform has given good results.
• Food safety requires political attention.
• Important to know how to get industry involved.
• Denmark maintains the high veterinary level.
• Denmark has a very fine level for food hygiene
  and food safety.