2023-04-28 09:43:04
Marcel has been a controller at the AFSCA, the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain, for more than 30 years. His daily life? Supervise production and distribution companies in the province of Hainaut. Like many of his colleagues, Marcel ensures that hygiene measures, traceability and self-checking are respected in order to protect the health of humans, animals and plants.
These field controllers looking for the slightest compromising detail are not always well received during their unannounced checks. This visit is sometimes synonymous with tensions with the managers of the various establishments, but fortunately these extreme situations are not systematic.
We were able to accompany Marcel during an unexpected check in an establishment that offers Quaregnon pitas. It’s noon and the store has just opened. We wait discreetly in the car, parked near the establishment. The shutter has barely opened when the controller steps inside. Marcel presents his official card on site and explains that he will carry out a check. Opposite, the manager is stressed but he cooperates. “You know, when people have nothing to be ashamed of, they’re cooperative and they let you go all over the building. But it has unfortunately already happened that some controllers have been attacked, ”he confides to us.
“We do not prevent them from working”
Marcel asks for the papers of the establishment as soon as possible in order to start the control, initially for the hygiene measures. Behind the counter, the agent inspects if the food, the oils are at the right temperature and if a hand washing device is present. So far, all measures are respected. But quickly a problem arises: the control of allergens. “Workers need to be able to explain allergen ingredients to their customers. Here, the boss is having difficulty naming the foods, so we are going to provide him with a document to help him,” continues Marcel.
Control takes time, Marcel leaves no room to chance. More and more customers. “When the establishments are in full fire, we must not bother the managers in order to let them work normally. During this time, I make my visit and I will challenge him for questions later”. Throughout the control which will last approximately 1h30, Marcel will note a few remarks but none will lead to a fine.
“When some colleagues start at the FASFC, their first idea is often to believe that restaurants of this type do not respect hygiene rules. But you may be surprised and amazed. These prejudices must be deconstructed. Look here, all the points of our common checklist for all inspectors have been checked. And the results are pretty good. There will be things to improve but these are minor non-conformities such as a damaged ceiling, rust located at the bottom of the cold room, stock on the floor… People often associate us with repression but I want to remember that we are here to protect public health first and foremost,” says the inspector.
Here are the main non-conformities!
According to the figures we have obtained, the controllers carry out an average of 450 controls per day: in 2021, 24,342 control missions were carried out. And 64.8% of these controls were compliant. “The main non-conformities for the most important aspects from a hygiene point of view concerned the absence of information on allergens, the areas where the food is prepared are not in good condition or clean, the absence of ‘a hand washing device with running water or the absence of a hygienic system for drying hands’, explains Aline Van den Broeck, spokesperson for the FASFC.
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