Single integrated national control plan for the United Kingdom January 2007 to March 2011 Note Whilst care has been taken to ensure that the web links contained in the UK National Control Plan are correct at the time of publication, changes may occur. The Plan will be kept under review and the links updated on a regular basis. Content of plan Page Abbreviations ...................................................................................................... 3 Contact point ....................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1 - Introduction....................................................................................... 7 Background ............................................................................................................ 7 Scope of the NCP .................................................................................................. 7 Content of the NCP ................................................................................................ 8 Planning cycle ....................................................................................................... 8 Implementation of the NCP .................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2 - The UK NCP: what we want to achieve......................................... 10 Overall objectives................................................................................................. 10 Specific objectives................................................................................................ 11 Chapter 3 - The regulatory landscape: who does what .................................. 14 Background .......................................................................................................... 14 Competent authorities .......................................................................................... 14 National Reference Laboratories.......................................................................... 25 Official laboratories............................................................................................... 26 Control bodies ...................................................................................................... 30 Chapter 4 - Working together to safeguard public, animal and plant health, to protect consumers, and to promote animal welfare ....................................... 32 Background .......................................................................................................... 32 Co-ordination and co-operation in the feed and food sectors……………………. 32 Co-ordination and co-operation in the animal health and welfare sectors……… . 41 Co-ordination and co-operation in the plant health sector ................................... 44 Emergency and contingency planning.................................................................. 44 Working across the EU......................................................................................... 48 Chapter 5 - Raising standards and sharing good practice ............................ 49 Background ......................................................................................................... 49 Monitoring and auditing performance .................................................................. 49 Other mechanisms for raising standards and sharing good practice ................... 51 Chapter 6 - Planning for the future - the next four years ............................... 52 Background ......................................................................................................... 52 Feed and food controls ....................................................................................... 52 Animal health and welfare controls .................................................................... 57 Page 1 Plant health controls............................................................................................. 60 Chapter 7 - Monitoring and reporting our progress ........................................ 61 Background ......................................................................................................... 61 Management of the review and reporting process .............................................. 61 Monitoring activities ............................................................................................. 61 What we will be reporting .................................................................................... 62 Appendices Appendix A - Designation of competent authorities in the UK ............................. 63 Appendix B - Feed and food responsibilities of the Agriculture/Rural Affairs Departments ........................................................................................................ 65 Appendix C - Food Standards Agency ................................................................ 68 Appendix D - The Agriculture/Rural Affairs Departments .................................... 76 Appendix E - Local and port health authorities .....................................................83 Appendix F - Meat Hygiene Service..................................................................... 94 Appendix G - Dairy Hygiene Inspectorate ............................................................ 99 Appendix H - Egg Marketing Inspectorate and SEERAD Egg & Poultry Unit .... 102 Appendix I - Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland ................................................................................................................ 105 Appendix J - Veterinary Medicines Directorate .................................................. 112 Appendix K - Pesticides Safety Directorate........................................................ 118 Appendix L - State Veterinary Service................................................................ 124 Appendix M - Rural Payments Agency............................................................... 131 Appendix N - Rural Inspectorate for Wales ....................................................... 135 Appendix O - Bee health .....................................................................................137 Appendix P - Fish health .....................................................................................141 Appendix Q - UK Plant Health Service .............................................................. 150 Appendix R - National Reference Laboratories ................................................. 156 Appendix S – UK ‘control bodies’ ...................................................................... 167 Appendix T - Auditing and monitoring of the competent authorities .................. 171 Page 2 Abbreviations Acronyms and abbreviations are used extensively throughout this document - a list of these is provided below. AFBI Agri-Food Biosciences Institute for Northern Ireland AHDO Animal Health Divisional Office AMES Animal Health & Welfare Management & Enforcement System AMI Animal Medicines Inspectorate APA Association of Public Analysts APHA Association of Port Health Authorities ASP Amnesic shellfish poisoning BIP Border Inspection Post BSE Bovine spongiform encephalopathy CAP Common Agricultural Policy CEFAS Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science COSLA Convention of Scottish Local Authorities CRL Community Reference Laboratory CSL Central Science Laboratory CVO Chief Veterinary Officer DARD Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland Defra Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DHI Dairy Hygiene Inspectorate DSP Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning DVM Divisional Veterinary Manager DVO Divisional Veterinary Officer EA Environment Agency EC European Community EEC European Economic Community EHO Environmental Health Officer ELG Enforcement Liaison Group EMI Egg Marketing Inspectorate EPC Welsh Assembly Government Environment, Planning and Countryside Department EPU Egg and Poultry Unit EU European Union FAPAS Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme FARE Feed Additives, Research & Enforcement FHI Fish Health Inspectorate FRS Fisheries Research Services FSA Food Standards Agency FVO Food and Veterinary Office GLPMA Good Laboratory Practice Monitoring Authority Page 3 GM Genetically modified HACCP Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point HMRC Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs HPA Health Protection Agency HSE Health and Safety Executive ISO International Standardisation Organisation LACORS Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services MDS Milk and Dairy Scheduling System MHS Meat Hygiene Service MoU Memorandum of Understanding MRL Maximum Residue Level NAO National Audit Office NBU National Bee Unit NCP National Control Plan NIFLEG Northern Ireland Food Law Enforcement Group NILGA Northern Ireland Local Government Association NPTC National Proficiency Tests Council NRL National Reference Laboratory NVQ National Vocational Qualification OTM Over thirty months OV Official Veterinarian PCBs Polychlorinated biphenols PCN Potato cyst nematode PETS Pet Travel Scheme PHA Port Health Authority PHSI Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate POAO Products of animal origin PRC Pesticides Residues Committee PSD Pesticides Safety Directorate PSP Paralytic shellfish poisoning QAB Quality Assurance Branch RASFF Rapid Alert System for Feed and Food RIW Rural Inspectorate for Wales RPA Rural Payments Agency RPW Rural Payments Wales SAC Scottish Agricultural College SAHO Senior Animal Health Officer SASA