On 29 November 2024, the Decree of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature was taken for the establishment of the Meat Chain Inspection Advisory Committee

The NVWA's (Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) supervision of the meat chain will be tightened from 2025 with a separate red meat department and Advisory Committee on Meat Chain Supervision.

As the supervision of the meat chain is of concern to the agriculture minister, he informed the House of Representatives about the need for an independent audit of the system.

State Inspectorates Framework Act

To achieve this, the establishment of a divisional supervision outside the NVWA has been looked at. An important step in this is the development of the Framework Act on State Inspections, which is intended to ensure greater independence of state inspectorates. In anticipation of this act, a temporary committee is being set up, or the Advisory Committee on Systemic Meat Chain Supervision. This committee will conduct a multidisciplinary review of the entire meat chain system, from the farm to the cutting plants, including cold stores and freezers. The committee will gather information from the NVWA, relevant ministries and industry and will justify its findings in a final report.

With the introduction of the Framework Act, we are working towards a ver strengthened supervision.

Stricter national interpretation of supervision

The European supervision regulation (EU regulation 2017/625) states minimum rules for monitoring food safety within the EU. This regulation sets out how member states should carry out controls on the food chain, but gives member states freedom in how they organise this. For example, the Netherlands can introduce specific rules for supervision of zoonoses (such as bird flu), which could result in hunters being banned from hunting, for example.

The State Inspections Framework Act allows the Dutch government to establish its own framework for supervision, going beyond European rules. This means the Netherlands will have more control over:

• The structure of inspections (such as the NVWA).
• The independence of inspections, so that they come under less political and/or social pressure.
• Focus of supervision aligned with government priorities, such as animal welfare and environment.

The new State Inspectorates Framework Act is in preparation. An internet consultation is planned in January. For more information, see https://condor-consultancy.com/nl/risicos-nieuwe-wet-op-de-rijksinspecties/ 

Source: https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/stcrt-2024-40134.html