System positioning and competence of food safety supervising authorities

Uvod: Živilska zakonodaja se razvija v smeri zagotavljanja visoke ravni varovanja življenja in zdravja ljudi, varstva interesov potrošnikov in njihovih pravic do obveščenosti v zvezi z živili, ki jih uživajo. V magistrskem delu so predstavljeni temelji in sistemska ureditev nadzornih organov na področju varnosti hrane. Namen: Namen magistrskega dela je bil pregled obstoječih ureditev in razvoja dobrih praks v odvisnosti od obdobja ustanovitve in delovanja inštitucij v treh primerjanih državah članicah EU. Pri tem smo zastavili dve raziskovalni vprašanjikot prvo, ali obstaja bistvena razlika v načinu ureditve in pristojnosti inšpekcijskih organov na področju varnosti hrane v izbranih državah članicah EU, in kot drugo, ali slovenska pravna ureditev inšpekcijskih organov, ki nadzirajo varnost hrane, ustrezno uresničuje zahteve primarnega in sekundarnega prava EU na področju varnosti hrane. Metode dela: Opravljen je bil temeljit pregled obstoječe strokovne literature, zakonodajnih predpisov v pregled vključenih držav, sodne in upravne prakse nadzornih organov, spletnih virov in gradiv deležnikov in zakonodajnih teles na EU in nacionalnih ravneh. Pri izboru pregleda in primerjave ureditev na nacionalnih ravneh treh članic EU (Zvezne republike Nemčije, Republike Slovenije in Republike Hrvaške) je bil uporabljen izbirni kriterij leto pridružitve EU-skupnosti. Iz zbranega in pregledanega gradiva je bila narejena osrednja analiza s povzetki in razvito razpravo v magistrski nalogi. Zbrali smo šest člankov, pet knjig in enajst zakonodajnih besedil ter številne komentarje. Rezultati: Ob pregledu področne ureditve smo ugotovili, da na prvo vprašanje lahko odgovorimo pritrdilno, pri čemer kot ključni element izpostavljamo državno ureditev posamezne države in s tem posledično določbe o delitvi pristojnosti. Na drugo raziskovalno vprašanje pa lahko odgovorimo le delno pritrdilno, saj slovenska pravna ureditev inšpekcijskih organov, ki nadzirajo varnost hrane v normativnem smislu, temu res sledi, razkorak pa je opazen, v kolikor zahteve prava EU presojamo z vidika zahtev o odzivnosti, enotnosti delovanja in učinkovitosti varstva zdravja ljudi in interesov potrošnikov. Razprava in zaključek: Na podlagi ugotovitev lahko povzamemo, da zakonodaja EU v oziru vzpostavitve organizacije inšpekcijskih služb v državah članicah ne podaja jasnih določb. Podaja pa EU posredno smernice, ki naj bodo zasledovane pri vzpostavitvi in delovanju inšpekcijskih služb. Pomembna je tudi ugotovitev, da je ureditev v RS na področju nadzora varnosti hrane nepotrebno deljena med ZIRS in UVHVVR, saj za to ni argumentov, posledično pa bi bila smiselno primerna rešitev, da se znotraj enega organa v celoti zajame področje nadzorstva varnosti hrane. Boljša informiranost o varnosti in kakovosti živil pozitivno vpliva na mnenje in zaupanje potrošnikov v preskrbo z varno hrano, pri tem so odgovorni nosilci promocije prvenstveno proizvajalci, sosledno pa tudi nadzorni organi v celotni živilski verigi.Introduction: Legislation regulating food is being amended in order to ensure a high level of protection of human life and health, and of consumers’ interests and right to be informed about the food they consume. The master thesis presents the foundations and the legislation on inspection bodies responsible for food safety. Purpose: The master thesis seeks to review existing legislation and find correlations between good practices by considering the time a particular body was established and the method of operation in three Member States. In this respect, two research questions were posed. First, it was examined if there are essential differences between the legislation on and the competence of inspection bodies responsible for food safety in selected Member States. Second, it was explored if Slovenian legislation on inspection bodies supervising food safety is adequate in terms of meeting the demands of primary and secondary EU law on food safety. Methods: An in-depth overview of existing expert literature, legislation in selected Member States, legal application and administrative practice of inspection bodies, online resources and materials provided by stakeholders and legislative bodies at the EU and national levels was performed. In this respect, the year the country joined the European Union (the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia) was applied as a selection criterion with regard to reviewing national legislation. The reviewed material provided the basis for the central analysis that included summaries. Selected resources included seven articles, five monographs and eleven legislative texts, and numerous commentaries. Results: The review of relevant legislation showed that the answer to the first research question is affirmative, and the crucial reason is different legislative frameworks in individual Members States and hence the division of competences. The answer to the second research question is partly affirmative: while Slovenian legislation on inspection bodies supervising food safety does follow EU law, there is a marked difference if requirements posed by EU law are assessed in terms of response rate, unified approach and effectiveness of protection for human health and consumers’ interests. Discussion and conclusion: Findings show that EU legislation does not provide clear guidance on how to set up inspection services in Member States. However, the EU does provide guidelines which should be followed with regard to the establishment and operation of inspection services. In this respect, it is also significant that in Slovenia, legislative powers are rather unnecessarily divided between the Health Inspectorate, and the Administration for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection. There is no reasonable explanation for such an arrangement, and it would make sense if one body was fully responsible for food safety. Better awareness of the safety and quality of food positively affects public opinion and trust in safe food supply, where responsible producers play the most important role, and consequently inspection bodies in the whole food chain