Report of the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Agency for Consumers Affairs, Food Safety and Nutrition (AECOSAN) on the programming of official controls on biological hazards

The Spanish Agency for Consumer Affairs, Food Safety and Nutrition (AECOSAN) and the autonomous communities have prepared a Document for the prioritisation and distribution of samples for the official control of biological hazards with the aim of improving the quality and uniformity of official controls in the framework of the National Food Chain Official Control Plan (PNCOCA). This Document has been based on the programming model of official controls on a risk basis, developed by the General Directorate of Public Health of the Department of Universal Health and Public Health of the Generalitat Valenciana. The prioritisation Document aims to distribute the sampling for official controls throughout Spain, following prior assessment of the risks and the analytical capacity of the laboratories. It will also serve to provide support and guidance to the autonomous communities in the implementation of their official control programmes. The prioritisation Document defines a semi-quantitative model which sets out the variables to which a relative numerical value is allocated in order to obtain a final qualification. The hierarchical methodology is based on the consideration of, on the one hand, the impact on health, considering the frequency and severity, and on the other hand, the prevalence, consisting of data from non-compliant samples and alert notifications. The Scientific Committee concludes that the Document for the prioritisation and distribution of official control samples aimed at determining the biological hazards is adequate, at present, for the purpose established. This Document should be regularly updated in light of the experience obtained from its application, progress in scientific knowledge, changes in the legislation and the directives and tools on prioritisation and sampling which may be developed at national or European Union level.ES; PDF; pfefsa@aesan.gob.e