Consumer protection is urgently needed, especially in mass production. The requirements for food are particularly high. That is why the controls in Germany are particularly strict in this area.
Chemnitz (dpa / sn) - Saxony's Minister of Social Affairs Petra Köpping (SPD) sees consumer protection for foodstuffs guaranteed despite the high burden on the control authorities. "Coronavirus and African swine fever presented the LUA with extreme challenges in 2021," she said on Monday in Chemnitz. Thanks to good professional communication and quick action by all the authorities and institutions involved, it was possible to promptly identify risky products and take them off the market. On Monday, Köpping presented the authority's annual report for 2021 at the State Investigation Institute (LUA) together with its President Jens Albrecht.
The Ministry of Social Affairs recalled the Europe-wide rapid warning system in the case of unhealthy food or feed. In 2021, a total of 8,670 rapid warning messages were received, of which 615 also related to products sold in Saxony and assessed as potentially hazardous to health. Preventive consumer health protection is becoming more and more important.
It is said that not only the examination of samples plays a role, but also operational controls would contribute to the protection of consumers. In 2021 there were almost 42,000 inspections of manufacturers of food, consumer goods, wine, tobacco and cosmetics in Saxony. Significant deficiencies were found in only three percent of the controls. 24 companies should therefore have been temporarily closed. The majority of the official measures made up decisions to remedy defects, warnings, administrative orders and fine procedures, it said.
The LUA annual report contains information on the studies carried out and their results as well as consumer tips. For example, scientifically based assessments of the usefulness of protein powders, the risks of BARF (raw feeding) of pets or the effectiveness of mobile air purification devices are included.
