CAFIA inspections in 2023: 49,000 inspections, over 128 million fines imposed
In 2023, the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA) carried out a total of 48,821 entries into food businesses, public catering establishments, customs warehouses and online shops.
Out of this number, CAFIA inspectors carried out 30,906 inspection entries into retail establishments, 13,550 entries into catering establishments, 13,058 entries into food production, 2,459 inspections into warehouses, 969 into primary production and 2,832 into other premises, e.g. during transport, into customs warehouses, etc.
Last year, CAFIA detected a total of 4,192 non-compliant lots of food and other products.
In terms of the country of origin, CAFIA found the highest number of deficiencies in foodstuffs imported from so-called third countries last year, while the lowest proportion of non-compliant samples was found in foodstuffs made by domestic producers. 40.9% of the evaluated lots which failed to comply with requirements of national or European regulations were foodstuffs from third countries. In case of foodstuffs originating from EU countries, 24% of the lots checked were non-compliant, while 16% of the lots of domestic foodstuffs were non-compliant.
Last year, CAFIA carried out a total of 13,550 inspections in restaurants, bistros, pubs, bars, confectioneries and other types of public catering establishments. CAFIA found a violation of legislation during almost every fourth inspection of this segment. During the inspections specifically focused on compliance with hygiene regulations, almost one third of the inspected establishments failed to comply. The current situation in public catering sector cannot be regarded as satisfactory, and CAFIA will continue in paying an increased attention to this segment.
In connection with permanent growth of e-commerce, CAFIA inspectors carried out a total of 736 inspections directly focused on online food sales. CAFIA is also increasingly focusing on inspections of foodstuffs offered or promoted on online social networks, online auctions, bazaars, etc. The most frequently checked commodities were food supplements. A total of 48% of this segment’s inspections ended with unsatisfactory results. Almost 6,300 operators offering food online have currently fulfilled their registration obligation with CAFIA.
In 2023, 2,982 administrative proceedings for non-compliance with food legislation by operators were completed, for which CAFIA finally imposed fines totalling to CZK 128,254,000.- which is about CZK 18.5 million more than in the previous year. The sum of the imposed fines is a revenue of the state budget.
For the full text of the 2023 Annual Report, see the CAFIA website.
Article by: Pavel Kopřiva – CAFIA Spokesperson, phone: +420 542 426 633
25th April 2024