21 September, 2016

How should I act before an inspection by the health authority?

In case of having an inspection in our company or establishment of food supplements, we must:

a) Act with diligence and precautions required in the activity, service or installation in question.

b) Comply with all the prerequisites established by the Authorities in order to avoid contaminations or other harmful circumstances that may be seriously detrimental to public health.

c) Provide all kinds of information about facilities, products or services, allowing the direct verification of the Inspectors.

d) Display the documentation that serves as a justification for the transactions carried out, the prices and margins applied and the concepts in which they are broken down.

e) Facilitate that copy or reproduction of said documentation be obtained.

f) Allow the timely sampling of products or merchandise to be produced, distributed or sold.

In the event that the Inspector considers that there is real or foreseeable risk to public health, he may determine to take a sample of certain products complying with the following requirements:

-A record must be made in which the data of samples taken .

-Each sample will consist of three identical copies, which will be conditioned, sealed, sealed and labeled so that with these formalities and with the signatures of the participants stamped on each copy, the identity of the samples with their content is guaranteed, during the time of the conservation of the same.

-In case the company is a manufacturer or packer of the collected samples, they must keep a copy of the minutes drawn and keep it. The other two copies of the sample will remain in the possession of the inspection, which will be sent to the Laboratory where the analysis of them is carried out.

On the other hand, if the company acts as a distributor, a copy of the minutes will remain in its possession, but the three copies of the sample will be withdrawn by the inspection, in which case, one of the copies will be made available to the interested manufacturer or packer or person duly authorized to represent you

– to withdraw it if you wish to practice the contradictory test

– by sending another copy to the laboratory to perform the initial analysis.

-the amounts to be withdrawn from each sample of the sample will be sufficient and proportional depending on the analytical determinations that are intended to be made.

-The analyzes will be carried out in official laboratories or in private laboratories accredited by the Administration for these purposes, using for analysis the methods that, where appropriate, are officially approved and, failing that, those recommended nationally or internationally. After performing the analysis, you should issue the results as soon as possible.

-In the event that the company under inspection does not agree with the results of the analysis, it may request from the instructor of the file, the performance of the contradictory analysis in two different ways:

1) Requesting it within a period of 5 business days, from the notification of the statement of objections, the company proposing another Expert for its realization in the Laboratory that performed the initial analysis, following the same techniques used by it and in the presence of the technician who certified said analysis or person designated by it.

2) Presenting a sample in an authorized official or private Laboratory, so that the contradictory analysis is performed by the technician who designates said Laboratory using the same techniques used in the initial analysis. This must be communicated to the Instructor in 8 business days from the notification of the statement of objections, sending the results and additional technical report, if any, within 1 month. If the analysis of the infraction is revealed, a sanctioning file will be opened.

g) Consent to carry out inspection visits and provide all kinds of facilities for this.

h) Control the labeling and advertising, ensuring that food supplements meet all the requirements established in the legislation on labeling and advertising.