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Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain
Attaining the objective of 5-year coverage of activities under 882/2004 Regulation : The Belgian approach
Tom Vanoverschelde
Grange, March 2011
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain
Belgium
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain2
Contents
• About the FASFC
• Organization of the internal audit
• Setting up of the audit universe
• Ensuring a coverage of all activities under Regulation 882/2004 over a 5 year period
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain3
The Belgian Food Safety Agency
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain4
Our goal : optimising Food chain checks
Suppliers of agriculture
(feed industry, raw materials, pesticides)
Agriculture
Food and feed industry
Wholesale business
Import / export / IC trade
Retail
Hotels, Restaurants, Pubs
Transport
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain5
Core business of the Food Agency
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain6
Some figures
• Central services in Brussels, 11 Provincial Control
Units (PCU), 5 internal laboratories, network of
external laboratories
• Approx. 1300 employees
• 800 independent veterinarians (600 FTE)
• Annual budget : € 180 million
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain7
The internal audit of the FASFC*
• Operational since July 2007
• Staff function placed under the direct control of the CEO
• One service : quality, environment, ombudsman, and prevention.
• 3 full time auditors (2 3 in September 2010)
• ISO 9001 certified since October 2008, successful ISO 17020 accreditation audit in December 2010
* The organization of the internal audit has been presented at the meeting in Grange on 8/12/08
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain8
Audits
• Mix of compliance, effectiveness and efficiency
• All parts of the organization : administrative processes, inspection services, laboratories, quality management
• Competence through :– Training of lead auditors
– Use of a pool of technical experts who have a broad knowledge and experience regarding the audit scope
– Since 2011 : technical experts = field inspectors
– Example of audit scope : “organization and conducting of inspections on the production of foodstuff from non-animal origin”
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain9
Audit universe• Decision 2006/677 EC :
“Form part of an audit program that ensures adequate coverage of all relevant areas of activity and all relevant
competent authorities within the sectors covered by Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 at an appropriate risk-based
frequency over a period not exceeding five years”
• To achieve this, and be able to provide proof of it, a listing of all activities under the scope of 882/2004 is required.
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain10
Audit universe (2)
• Different approaches were considered:
1. Sectors and subsectors in the food chain
2. Business processes
3. Organizational entities
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain11
Option 1 : sectors in the food chain
• Advantages : – Aligned with MANCP / national control plan
– Aligned with the structure of the inspection services
– Establishing a link with legislation is easier
– More technical experts available, with less audit preparation required
• Disadvantages: – Supporting services are not linked to a particular sector in the
food chain
– Some key processes are transversal, and auditing them in parts and pieces will cause a lose of oversight for auditors
– “grey areas” in the food chain which do not belong to one specific sector
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain12
Option 2 : Business processes• Advantages :
– The relationships and links between organizational entities and activities are documented and audited.
– Difficulties and problems between interrelated activities will be found (e.g. Central and decentralized services)
• Disadvantages: – Not all business processes are documented or identified
– Every inspection, regardless of the sector, follows the same process. One process covers a wide range of different subjects.
– Auditing becomes more difficult because more people and levels in the organization are involved. Auditors need a thorough insight in the overall organizational processes and their relationship.
– Not all activities are easily transformed in a process.
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain13
Option 3 : Organizational entities
• Advantages : – The universe is easy to document (= organizational chart)
– All entities will be audited all activities will be covered
– Individual audit planning is easier, the number of people involved is limited.
– Follows the mindset of a bureaucratic organization
• Disadvantages : – Relation between risk and audit coverage is out of balance : all
control units should then be audited, even if they perform the same activities.
– Entities mostly fulfill activities that are part of a process. The end result of the process is not being audited.
– Problems between entities will not be easily found and analyzed.
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain14
The audit universe of the FASFC
• Every option has too many disadvantages to be easily usable
Why not combine them into one model?
Sectors Technical operations
Processes Transversal operations
Entities Operations of support
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain15
The audit universe
• All activities listed in 3 categories : technical, transversal and support activities
• Find the balance between too much and not enough detail
• A tool which:– provides a view on all activities to audit ;
– displays the activities covered and those not covered
– helps to make up the audit program for the next year(s)
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain
Building the universe
• Technical operations :– Primary sector animals, primary sector plant, animal welfare,
feed, transformation of food of animal or non-animal origin, distribution sector, import – export – internal EU trade.
• Transversal operations : – Risk analysis, control program, sampling process,
collaboration with other organizations, crisis management, registration of operators…
• Operations of support : – HR, IT, logistics, financial processes, procurement…
Not all activities are directly related to 882/2004.
16
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain
The audit universe
See hyperlink:
Audit universe for presentation FVO March 9 2011.xlsx
17
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain
From audit universe to audit scope• Audit scope : from objective to follow-up
• Example : Inspections in butcheries. – Existence and knowledge of control program and other
objectives
– Overall organization of the control unit (incl. quality management)
– Planning the inspections : assignment of inspectors, choice of butchery, preparation.
– Carry-out of the inspection : sample of inspections followed by the auditors : communication/behavior towards operator, organization of the inspection, respect and use of procedures/ checklists/forms, interpretation of findings, determine result and follow-up needed.
– General follow-up on findings and measures taken.
– Supervision, quality control and monitoring of inspections : on individual and team level.
18
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain19
Interpretation of « coverage »
• Previous meetings of the Network of Audit Representatives gave us these guidelines :
– A full coverage of a certain domain is not realistic, audit is always based on sampling an audit can cover a defined scope even when it’s conducted in one province.
– Single audit : if some areas have been audited by other qualified bodies, the same work does not have to be repeated.
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain20
Coverage in practice (1)
• Some scopes or processes form part of an audit assignment, but are not the main focus of the audit. Some examples: – Collaboration with independent veterinarians is part of
the scope of every audit in sectors like slaughterhouses, meat industry and import / export.
– An audit about hygiene in slaughterhouses also looks at measures taken to ensure animal welfare.
– Handling of customer complaints is looked upon in almost all audits in inspection services, but the complaints process as a whole is not reviewed.
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain21
Coverage in practice (2)
• Coverage – Main scope : an audit has been carried out with the
activity as main scope
– Part of scope : elements of the process or activity have been reviewed, but not all
• Decision– If 1 time referred to as main scope covered.
– (multiple) Part of scope judgment by internal audit
– No audits plan an audit in next audit program
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain22
Follow-up of audit recommandations
• Responsible = line management
• On a continuous basis:– Part of quality management system
– Quality managers at different levels in the organization
• Follow-up audits – All recommendations are reviewed in a future follow-
up audit
– 1 to 2 years later, depending on risk and priorities
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain23
Realization of action plans
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain24
Some possible issues…
• When does the 5 year period start ?
• After 5 years : full restart or scroll further one year ?
• Documented audit universe + full coverage in a 5 year period still a need for a (quantified) risk analysis ?
• Will full coverage lead to less FVO-missions to Belgium ?
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain25
Contacts
FASFC (Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain) CA Botanique – Food Safety Center – 8th floorBoulevard du Jardin Botanique 55B - 1000 BRUSSELSwww.afsca.be
Guy MommensDirectorInternal audit, Quality & PreventionTel +32 (0)2 211 82 33 [email protected]
Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain26
Hagar the Horrible Dik Browne
Audit : A profession that serves the whole organization
Wouldn’t it be better to try
the backdoor first ?