European Network for Administrative Assistance and Cooperation (ACC)
The European Network for Administrative Assistance and Cooperation enables a close cooperation in the enforcement of EU requirements along the entire agri-food chain, including cases where no health risk was determined.
- What is the ACC?
- Which types of non-compliance will be reported via AAC?
- Who does what within the AAC?
- How does the AAC work?
- AAC in figures
What is the ACC?
The network and procedure for Administrative Assistance and Cooperation (AAC) helps to effectively, quickly, and efficiently prosecute any non-compliance with EU requirements across borders along the entire food chain. This is only possible, if the government authorities within the European Union (EU) that are involved in feed and food controls closely cooperate and coordinate their efforts.
Therefore, in accordance with the “EU Official Controls Regulation”, the competent authorities in the member states are obligated to provide each other with administrative assistance, to cooperate, and to share information. Various online platforms form the basis for this assistance; the platforms are used for reporting the respective cases, any non-compliance and proceedings directly to the concerned government authorities and for the purpose of organizing subsequent steps across national borders.
Which types of non-compliance will be reported via AAC?
The AAC network is used for reporting cases of non-compliance that do not pose a health risk. There are two categories of non-compliance: cases regarding Administrative Assistance (AA) and cases in connection with fraudulent and misleading practices (FF, Food Fraud). Administrative assistance may mean that the government authorities from two or more member states exchange documents, carry out official controls (in certain cases even jointly), or determine the distribution channels of non-marketable products.
On the other hand, there are cases of non-compliance which pose a serious health risk. Information on hazardous food, food contact materials, and feeds shall not be communicated via the AAC, but only via the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF).
In certain circumstances, the initial non-compliance may turn into a RASFF notification with a health risk in the course of the investigations.
Who does what within the AAC?
Source: BVL
All EU member states, the European Commission, and all states of the European Economic Area belong to the network. Third countries may also be informed about notifications via the European Commission.
The AAC network consists of several hubs, the so-called contact points. Each member state has a national contact point. In Germany, the BVL is the national AAC contact point and acts as the hub for the exchange of information with the competent surveillance authorities in the German federal states and the AAC network member states.
The European Commission supervises the processing of notifications.
The tasks of the BVL as the national contact point include the validation of notifications from the federal states in the so-called upstream procedure, their translation and forwarding to the contact point of the network member concerned upon a careful investigation of the situation. Likewise, in the downstream process, notifications from EU member states are translated, reviewed and transmitted to the responsible contact points in the German federal states. If the reporting country or other AAC network members concerned have additional relevant information on the reported case, e.g., investigation results, such information will be furnished as a follow-up notification.
How does the AAC work?
If objections are raised against a product in the course of an official control, inspections carried out by the business operator itself or by consumers, and if it violates EU regulations or if food fraud is suspected, the monitoring authority responsible for a certain district will inform the competent government authority of the federal state. This authority then drafts an AAC notification.
Several categories of notifications were established for reporting sensitive information, e.g., for the prosecution of criminal acts. Cases that belong to the field of Administrative Assistance (AAC AA) will be entered into the iRASFF as non-compliance.
Source: European Union, translation and updates 2020
In contrast, notifications on food fraud will be shared in the iRASFF as food fraud notification and will only be available to an authorized group of persons. Each AAC notification draft contains all essential information on the identification of the product, on the objections raised, on product tracing and distribution, but also on any measures already taken.
What are the most frequent types of non-compliance?
The major portion of non-compliances reported in AAC concerns mislabeling (designation, identification of nutrients, advertising claims, font sizes, language, layout, etc.). To name just a few examples of food fraud, this could involve an inaccurate identification of the type of meat, the replacement of valuable ingredients with cheaper substitutes, inaccurate weight data, and the inappropriate use of organic food labels. For more information on the topic of food fraud follow the link by clicking here.
AAC in figures
According to the European Commission, the number of reported cases in the AAC network is steadily increasing.
In 2019, the network members shared about 1700 notifications via the AAC AA, and about 300 notifications via the AAC FF. In 2020, there were already about 2300 notifications in the AAC AA, and about 400 notifications in the AAC FF. Since the launch of the network, the German authorities in particular have made intensive use of the AAC. With more than 800 cases each year, Germany was the European forerunner in the creation of AAC AA (2019: 786; 2020: 826) and AAC FF notifications (2019: 76; 2020: 84).