2023/0115/E
EC/EFTA
ES Spain
  • C00A - AGRICULTURE, FISHING AND FOODSTUFFS
2023-06-19
2023-03-28

Establishment of rules for the performance of official controls and other official activities on animals and goods in the agri-food chain and related operations.

DRAFT ROYAL DECREE ON OFFICIAL CONTROLS AND OTHER OFFICIAL ACTIVITIES PERFORMED ON THE AGRI-FOOD CHAIN AND RELATED OPERATIONS

The draft Royal Decree establishes the requirements for official controls and other official activities, without prejudice to the direct application of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, and repeals the national rules which have become obsolete and which have been incorporated in this draft.

It establishes the requirements for carrying out official controls and other official on-site and distance activities, as well as the requirements applicable to derived written records, the transparency of such activities, and the disclosure of incidents and situations of risk.
It establishes the procedure for sampling and analysis, including the sampling of animals and goods placed on the market by means of distance communication, and develops the operator’s right to a second expert opinion, which includes the documentary review and a possible second analysis, the requirements and deadlines for carrying it out, as well as the consequences of the result. It also establishes the requirements for official laboratories and national reference laboratories.
It brings the adoption of measures in the event of suspicion of non-compliance or established non-compliance, the responsibility of operators involved and the applicable penalty system into line with European and national legislation.
It establishes the composition and functions of the National Commission for the Coordination of the National Plan for the Official Control of the Food Chain [Comisión Nacional de Coordinación del Plan Nacional de Control Oficial de la Cadena Alimentaria] and the National Commission for the Coordination of the Control of Pharmacologically Active Substances and their Residues [Comisión Nacional de Coordinación del Control de Sustancias Farmacológicamente Activas y sus Residuos].
Finally, the Annex establishes the requirements for experts to carry out the documentary review, developing the figure created by Article 35(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625.