• the key process and activities of the FASFC dedicated to the safety of the food chain ;
• all activities with major significance or influence on consumers, the community, operators, national and international authorities and instances and the external partners ;
• all other activities related to management and delivery of support services.

A detailed list of these activities is given in the Annex attached to the certificate.


Why has ISO standard 9001 been chosen ?

ISO 9001 certificates are used to increase the satisfaction and confidence of customers with respect to the products and services supplied. These certificates are widespread in the private sector, but are less common in the public sector. It should be noted that in de public sector notions such as “customer” and “product” are less obvious. Among our customers there are citizens and businesses who expect the public sector to observe good management principles and, in particular, that this sector carries out its mission and reaches its targets in an efficient manner, i.e. by carrying out its mission as well as possible using the least possible resources.

The idea that quality management systems increase the efficiency and the professionalism of organizations is generally accepted, all the more as organizations are larger and their need for standardization is greater.

The 2008 version of standard ISO 9001 also emphasizes the obligation to act in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements in force and thus sustains the implementation of this basic principle

In addition to these benefits, some specific advantages for the FASFC are obvious :

• operators of the food chain expect that controls are harmonized and that analyses are reliable;
• standardization leads to administrative simplification;
• on an international level the ISO 9001 standard may improve the image of the FASFC, which may have a positive effect for operators who would like to engage in exports ;
• finally, the ISO 9001 standard is compatible with standards ISO 17020 (inspection bodies) and ISO 17025 (competence of testing and calibration laboratories) and is therefore ideally used as a common basis for the central processes of the Agency, with links to the accredited control and analysis activities.
  

According to the INTOSAI (International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions) and the “Guidelines for internal control standards for the public sector” (F. VANSTAPEL, 2004) internal control is an integral process that is effected by an entity’s management and personnel and is designed to address risks and to provide reasonable assurance that in pursuit of the entity’s mission, the following general objectives are being achieved :

• Executing orderly, ethical, economical, efficient and effective operations;
• Fulfilling accountability obligations;
• Complying with applicable laws and regulations;
• Safeguarding resources against loss, misuse and damage.

Internal control is a dynamic integral process that is continuously adapting to the changes an organization is facing.

The integrated quality and environment system of the FASFC, the structure of which is based upon the processes, is the working basis for the implementation of internal control. In this respect, the system has recently been completed by a methodology for managing process related risks with an aim to controlling the risks that might arise and jeopardize the achievement of the goals set, in spite of good management.