The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (Afsca) received a record number of 5,222 complaints last year, 7% more than in 2023, report the newspapers 7Dimanche and De Zondag.
Complaints mainly concerned hygiene (30%), food poisoning (27%), and storage issues (17%).
Almost half of the complaints targeted the Horeca sector (hotels, restaurants, and cafes), while 45% were directed at distribution (supermarkets, grocery stores, butcheries, bakeries).
However, Afsca clarifies that this overrepresentation does not mean these sectors are less efficient in food safety; it simply reflects higher consumer interaction with these food businesses.
More than half of the complaints resulted in concrete action in the field, and 94% of the complaints were addressed within 30 days.
In 49% of the cases, the reported issues were found to be justified.
