The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (AFSCA) handled 240 complaints last year related to the online sale of food products, it said Tuesday. This is a new record and a sharp increase from the 170 reports they handled in 2021.
In two years, the AFSCA inspectors specialised in e-commerce have handled more than 400 consumer complaints. Half of which concerned whether the seller was properly registered with the AFSCA. In a "large majority" of cases, the person or company behind the sale did not have authorisation from the federal agency.
However, this authorisation is necessary, even for a home cook who offers his products via Facebook Marketplace or other platforms. "You are part of the food chain and are therefore responsible for the food safety of your products," the agency stresses.
To prevent food fraud from happening, the AFSCA integrated a special service responsible for detecting and diminishing fraud, according to the AFSCA's 2021-2024 business plan.
The Directorate General Control Policy (DGCP) is the responsible for the prevention, detection and repression of fraud. It also monitors the implementation of a self-check system by operators and the marketing of safe, compliant and traceable products, registers operators and grants approvals, authorisations and registrations.
There is a legal obligation to make yourself known to the AFSCA, but it is also important that the agency can intervene quickly in case of an incident, the federal agency emphasises. "If consumers become ill, the AFSCA must be able to determine where the problem lies in the food chain (with the seller, supplier, etc.) in order to contain the problem as much as possible."
