Czech Republic

Competent authorities

Name of authority:
The Czech Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority
Mandate/competence:
The competencies of the CAFIA for checking food stem from these provisions:
 Section 3 (1) of the Act No. 146/2002 Coll., on the Czech Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority, as amended (hereinafter the “Act on the CAFIA”) – the control of agricultural products, food and raw materials intended for their production by physical and legal entities.
 Section 16 (1) (c) of the Food Act – 1. State supervision during the production and placing the food on the market, if it is not carried out by the veterinary administration authorities, communal catering the inspection activity; 2. State supervision at the entry points for food and raw materials from third countries), if not carried out by the veterinary authorities; 3. State supervision in the production and marketing of foodstuffs, including food in the provision of catering services.
 Section 37 (1) (b) of the Act No. 321/2004 Coll., on Viticulture and Winemaking as amended – the supervisory authority for the area of winemaking (processing grapes, crushed grapes, grape juice or wine using approved technological procedures, filling packaging with the product, labelling the product and bringing it onto the market).
 Section 1 (2) of Government Regulation 98/2005 Coll., a Government Regulation which stipulates the rapid alert system on the emergence of risks to human health from food and feed, the CAFIA is the national focus point for the rapid alert system for food and feed (hereinafter referred to as the “NFP RASFF”) which is regulated by the European Commission and the NFP RASFF sends announcements relating to the CR to all members of the national network.
 Section 23 (2) of the Act No. 634/1992 Coll., on Consumer Protection, as amended – the supervisory authority for consumer protection (honesty of sales, dishonest business practices, information obligations of retailers).
 Section 10 (1) of the Act No. 452/2001 Coll., on the Protection of Designations of Origin and Geographical Indications the authority that controls the specification pursuant to this act to the extent of the sphere of its activities. This mainly involves monitoring the compliance of production for products bearing names that are entered in the national or community register as protected designations of origin or protected geographical indications, or a name for which proceedings have been brought for its registration, with a given specification. This also applies to the publication of findings, opinions and certificates.
 Section 17b (5) of the Act No. 61/1997 Coll., on Alcohol, as amended – the supervisory authority authorised to control alcohol within the scope of its competence (labelled in a misleading manner or in a manner that might cause confusion, and alcohol of harmful or unknown origin).
 Section 18 (7) of the Act No. 62/2001 Coll., on the Management of the State Organisational Units and the State Organisations Managing National Property, as amended - unmarked cigarettes are handed over to the CAFIA.
 Section 37 of the Act No. 477/2001 Coll., on Packaging and on Amendments to Some Related Acts, as amended – a supervisory authority within the scope of competence stipulated in this Act.
www.szpi.gov.cz

Name of authority:
The State Veterinary Administration
Mandate/competence:
The inspection competencies of the veterinary administration authorities are defined by the Veterinary Act, the Food Act, Act No. 634/1992 Coll., on Consumer Protection, as amended, The Breeding Act, Act No. 246/1992 Coll., on the Protection of Animals Against Cruelty, as amended (Animal Welfare Act), and the Act on Pharmaceuticals and Act No. 452/2001 Coll., on the Protection of Designations of Origin and Geographical Indications.
Tasks arising from the assigned area of competence (Sections 48 and 49 of the Veterinary Act) are performed by the SVA in particular as follows:
a) the performance of state veterinary supervision,
b) the issue of binding instructions to eliminate deficiencies discovered,
c) the imposition of emergency veterinary measures,
d) the issue of binding opinions for construction proceedings, construction notification and building approval,
e) the issue of veterinary health certificates,
f) the identification of veterinary conditions for gatherings of animals and experiments on animals,
g) the performance of inspections on slaughter animals and meat and the examination of other animal products,
h) the issue of permits for the performance of certain diagnostic and sanitation activities,
i) the approval and registration of enterprises, factories and other facilities involved in placing animals and animal products on the market, their transportation and trade,
j) the imposition of fines for violations and administrative offences in the field of veterinary care.
Unless an authorisation conferred only on the CVA by the Veterinary Act is concerned, it the RVA will also perform these as part of its responsibilities, and vice versa.
www.svscr.cz/

Name of authority:
The Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture
Mandate/competence:
The competence of the Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture (CISTA) is defined in the Act No. 147/2002 Coll., on the Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture and on Amendments to Some Related Acts, the CISTA procedure during controls is regulated by Act No. 255/2012 Coll., on Inspection.
 As stipulated in Act No. 91/1996 Coll., on Feedingstuffs, the CISTA oversees the compliance with the obligations in the field of feed, additives and premixtures, is responsible in the nationwide scope for the performance of the state administration, official controls and professional testing.
 According to the Act No. 326/2004 Coll., on Phytosanitary Care and on Amendments to Some Related Acts, as amended, it performs plant health care control, plant health care supervision and control of plant protection products (PPP) and other auxiliary PPP. Lists of organisms harmful to plants and plant products are published under Decree No. 215/2008 Coll.
www.eagri.cz/public/web/en/ukzuz/portal/

Name of authority:
The Institute for State Control of Veterinary Biologicals and Medicines
Mandate/competence:
The ISCVBM is an administrative authority with a nationwide scope and its headquarters in Brno. Its responsibility is in relation to the inspections that are the subject of this multi-annual control plan, primarily defined in Section 16 of the Act No. 378/2007 Coll., on Pharmaceuticals and on Amendments to Some Related Acts (hereinafter the “Act on Pharmaceuticals”), as amended and in accord with Section 47 of the Act No. 166/1999 Coll., on Veterinary Care and on Amendments to Some Related Acts (hereinafter the “Veterinary Act”), where in accordance with its regulations the ISCVBM is a veterinary administration authority in the field of veterinary products and veterinary technical devices.
Within the framework of the areas falling under Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 of the EP & C according to Section 16 of the Act on Pharmaceuticals the ISCVBM is mainly responsible for the following issues:
 Granting authorisation for the production of medicinal products, including medicated feedingstuffs and veterinary autogenic vaccines, permission for the operation of an inspection laboratory and distribution licence, decides on the change, suspension or invalidation of the licences issued in accordance with this Act,
 In the case of animal health threat or life hazard, public health threat or threat to the environment, particularly in the case of determining the adverse effects of a medical preparation or the suspicion of adverse effects or in the case of fault detection or suspicion of fault in medicine quality it issues an interim measure:
1. interim measure on the suspension of use of a medicine or additives intended for preparing medicinal products or the suspension of putting into circulation this medicine or such additives, or
2. interim measure on restrictions for putting into circulation particular batches of the medicine,
 Makes a decision in the cases of animal health or life hazard or public health hazard or threat to the environment on the measures:
1. withdrawal of the medicine from circulation, including a determination of the scope of the withdrawal, and this also in the case that a medical preparation is placed on the market as another product, or
2. removal of the medicine,
 Carries out the inspection in the area of veterinary medicine:
- carries out random laboratory examinations of medicines and issues the quality certificates of medicines and additives;
- carries out controls of operators and other persons handling medicines the observance of the Act on Pharmaceuticals,
- if there is a reasonable suspicion of unlawful behaviour under the Act on Pharmaceuticals, the ISCVBM is authorised, in justified cases, to carry out the temporary securing, confiscation and prevention of the medical preparation,
 Negotiates in first stage in the area of veterinary medicine administration torts, if the Regional Veterinary Administration does not negotiate them according to Section 17 ( c), and executes the measures in the case of violating the obligations laid down by the Act on Pharmaceuticals,
 Carries out monitoring the risk rate and benefit of medicinal products involving monitoring adverse effects, including insufficient efficiency, usage out of the scope of the decision on registration, environmental hazards issuing from medicinal products and sufficiency of protection periods of medicinal products,
 Carries out the examinations of animal product and feed samples within the framework of monitoring prohibited substances and preparations or residues of substances with a pharmacological effect or their metabolites (is the NRL for Veterinary Medicines Residues).
The ISCVBM within the framework of the areas falling under Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 of the EP & C, is chiefly responsible for the following issues:
The control of livestock breeders, if
- he /she administers medicinal products to animals in accordance with the rules for their use within the provision of veterinary care, veterinary preparations approved according to the Veterinary Act, and he/she observes the conditions for administering certain substances and preparations to animals, whose products are intended for human consumption (Section 19 of the Veterinary Act),
- he/she does not administer to animals substances and preparations, the use of which for livestock and animals, whose products are intended for human consumption, is not approved (Section 19, (1) and (3) of the Veterinary Act).
http://www.uskvbl.cz/index.php

Name of authority:
The Czech Breeding Inspectorate
Mandate/competence:
The competence of the Czech Breeding Inspectorate is defined in Act No. 154/2000 Coll., on Breeding, Stirpiculture and Record Keeping of Farm Animals and on Amendments to Some Related Acts (the Breeding Act). Furthermore it proceeds in accordance with Act No. 255/2012 Coll., on Inspection (the Inspection Code) and in accordance with Act No. 500/2004 Coll., the Administrative Procedure Code, as amended.

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