The objective of official control is to verify compliance with the legislation and to ensure the safety of food in order to protect human health and the economic interests of consumers.

Official control means any form of control::

• In food, food ingredients, materials in contact with food.
• In labelling, presentation, advertising, and business documents.
• Sampling, laboratory testing or analysis or other means of control conducted by the competent authority or other control bodies.
• Any audit concerning installation, maintenance and verification of quality assurance systems in premises involved in any stage of producing, processing, storage, distribution, marketing, distribution and catering, including vehicles control.

For better clarification, official controls are considered:

• The control of food and food ingredients, additives, vitamins, minerals, additives to be sold as such, materials come into contact with food, and control of labelling, presentation and advertising of products.
• The inspection on the implementation of hygiene and quality assurance systems at all stages from production to consumption.
• The controls are based on national programs, community programs, monitoring programs and in research programs for developing standards (regular controls).
• The controls imposed following complaints, notification from alert system or after a food crisis outbreak.

In detail, official controls include:

• Controls on organoleptic characteristics.
• Controls on health marks,
• Controls on microbiological parameters
• Controls on the presence of chemical contaminants and radioactivity
• Controls on the quality and / or fraud.
• Controls on labelling.
• Controls relating to misleading advertising presentation.
• Controls on materials in contact with food.

The inspection is conducted in the food businesses involved in the production, processing, manufacturing, packaging, storage, transport, distribution and marketing or supply to the consumers of products handled or imported into our country or exported from it.

Regular checks

EFET exercises its activity by the end of May 2001. Today EFET conducts regular checks on multiple levels. Conducts control activities in the food market with its own team or in collaboration with other civil services from Attica, Central Macedonia, West Macedonia [Retail, catering, hospitals, processing premises (not covered by other provisions) and markets]. Systematic (regular) checks are lying in an extensive European legislation. Also, controls are conducted following complaints from citizens or after a specific request by services such as army in order to verify compliance with the necessary health and safety standards of food businesses which take part in public procurement tenders, etc.