Belgian Food Safety on the Rise: FASFC Inspections and Recalls Lead to Improved Condition.

In 2023, the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) conducted more than 106,000 inspections at around 56,000 companies in the food chain. Despite some unfavorable results, the FAVV was able to take various measures to address the issues found during these inspections. These measures included issuing warnings (15,728 times), reports (10,044 times), and seizing products (2,174 times). If necessary, the health of consumers was protected by temporarily closing down companies (399 times).

The agency also analyzed and collected samples from various foodstuffs on the Belgian market. Of these samples, 64,648 met the required standards with a high percentage of 98%. This indicates a strong level of food safety in Belgium. In addition to this, 22,552 checks were carried out on over 21,000 distribution sector companies such as catering establishments and supermarkets. While providing accurate allergen information to consumers was a focus area in this sector, maintaining proper hand hygiene standards also received attention. The majority of cases resulted in positive outcomes with a success rate of 69.3%.

The annual report showed that Belgian food companies recalled 254 products from consumers due to chemical or microbiological risks. However, over 80% of these recalls were due to chemical or microbiological risks. Additionally, there were a total of 85 warnings issued mostly because allergen information was missing on labels. Despite these challenges, the overall condition of food safety in Belgium increased by an impressive 2.2 percent in