Requirements of the Zoonosis Regulation for Food Business Operators
Oct 1, 2019 - Foods
Requirements of the Zoonosis Regulation for Food Business Operators
In North Rhine-Westphalia, the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, Nature and Consumer Protection informed the responsible authorities at the end of August about an order or directive with immediate effect on the enforcement of § 3 of the Zoonosis Ordinance and the implementation of salmonella monitoring.
This order affects companies that are based in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and their testing laboratories (also outside NRW). However, it should be noted that these legal regulations have been applicable nationwide for several years.
The main requirements for food companies from the Zoonosis Ordinance are contained in § 3:
- retention samples must be taken from microbiological self-controls of food and kept in an appropriate manner until the results are available
- in the case of detection of zoonotic pathogens in food, the food business operator must inform the competent authority about it
- in the case of detection of zoonotic pathogens, corresponding isolates must be produced
- both the corresponding retention samples and the isolates must be kept in an appropriate manner for up to three months
- the retention samples and the isolates must be presented and handed over to the competent authority upon request
- in paragraph 3 of § 3 of the Zoonosis Ordinance, it is stipulated that a corresponding notification to the authority may not be used for legal administrative offense or criminal proceedings against the food business operator
The Zoonosis Ordinance came into effect in 2007, but the contents are still unknown to many food companies. Accordingly, the implementation of the ordinance is progressing only slowly.
Zoonoses are communicable infectious diseases that can be caused by bacteria, parasites, fungi, prions, or viruses and can be transmitted between animals and humans (see also /www.bfr.bund.de).
The most important bacterial zoonotic pathogens in food include
- Salmonella
- Campylobacter
- Listeria monocytogenes
- Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC/VTEC/EHEC)
- Yersinia enterocolitica
The food surveillance authorities publish an annual report on zoonosis monitoring.
To meet the requirements of the Zoonosis Ordinance, BAV automatically offers the following services to all customers free of charge:
- retention samples are taken from food samples
- in the case of positive detection of zoonotic pathogens in food, the retention samples are kept for three months
- in the case of positive detection of zoonotic pathogens in food, the isolates are kept for three months
For questions regarding the Zoonosis Ordinance, our customer advisors are available to assist you.