Bavaria: Food safety: control now at the ministry

As a result of the salmonella scandal at the Bayern-Ei company, the KBLV control authority has existed since 2018.

Bavaria: Food safety: control now at the ministry

As a result of the salmonella scandal at the Bayern-Ei company, the KBLV control authority has existed since 2018. Their reports on large and high-risk operations now go directly to the state government.

Munich/Kulmbach (dpa/lby) - Bavaria's special authority for food safety and veterinary controls is now directly subordinate to the Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection. "The world is becoming more and more complex. This also applies to the food and veterinary sectors," said Minister Thorsten Faithr (Free Voters) on Tuesday in Munich. This will raise consumer and animal protection "to a new level". "Our goal is effective food monitoring and veterinary administration in Bavaria."

The "Bavarian Control Authority for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs" (KBLV) started its work at the beginning of 2018 and was previously subordinate to the State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL). The state government reacted to the food scandal with salmonella-contaminated eggs at the Bayern-Ei company by founding the KBLV. Since then, large, supra-regional food companies and so-called high-risk companies have no longer been controlled by the district offices.

Glauber rated the structural reform of consumer protection with the founding of the KBLV as a success. This is shown by the evaluation report of an external management consultancy. The system will now be further optimized, said Glauber.

However, the report also showed potential for adjustments, which have already been made in two points in particular: The supervision of the KBLV should be transferred from the LGL to another administrative unit, in particular for reasons of relief. The second point relates to the Export umbrella office, which takes on important tasks relating to exports to third countries.

The KBLV is Bavaria's central special authority for food safety and animal welfare, based in Kulmbach and with locations in Buchloe, Oberding and Nürnberger Land. The authority now has more than 100 positions.

In recent years, however, there has also been trouble with the authorities. In 2020, for example, after criticism from the Administrative Court, the legal basis for the work of the KBLV had to be reorganized. The court criticized the fact that it was previously unclear for which companies the authority was actually responsible.