Better Training for Safer Food

The programme aims to keep participants up-to-date with European law in the areas mentioned above and should help to ensure more harmonised and efficient controls. Efficient controls are an essential factor in maintaining high levels of consumer protection, animal health and plant health. Harmonisation of controls should help to create a level playing field for food businesses.

Training is also organised specifically for non-EU, particularly developing, country participants so as to familiarise them with EU requirements. This should help to ease access to the EU market for products from developing countries.

The training is open to staff of competent authorities. In the UK this means local authority staff may apply to attend. Not all the training provided is relevant to local authority staff, but the Agency, which is the National Contact Point for the UK, notifies local authorities of relevant training that may be of interest and invites applications to attend. This is usually done by direct communication to a local authority’s dedicated mailbox.

You can read more about Better Training for Safer Food, including the Annual Report for 2009, on the EU website at the link to the EU website below.

As the training is for all EU member states as well as other non-EU countries, it should be noted that the UK has only a small number of places at each workshop, often no more than one, and in some cases, none at all. An application to attend one of the courses, therefore, does not guarantee you a place.

Please note that all applications for any of the workshops must be submitted via the relevant National Contact Point. For the UK, this is the Food Standards Agency, so all applications should be emailed to Bob Pilling at robert.pilling@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk not directly to the Commission or project manager. You can also contact Bob at this email address, or by telephone on 020 7276 8436, if you want to find out more about Better Training for Safer Food.

The European Commission will fund flights, accommodation, meals and field visits in full. Any other cost will need to be paid by the participants. The courses are organised by external contractors who will contact the participants about practical arrangements.

There is no cost to the local authority

The workshops take place in different countries around Europe. A list of training that is relevant to local authority staff and where places may still be currently available is as follows:

Food Contact Material – basic and advanced
19 – 21 September 2012 (basic) – Vilnius
5 – 7 December 2012 (advanced) – Berlin
13 – 15 March 2013 (basic) – Lisbon
14 – 16 May 2013 (advanced) - Vilnius

HACCP implementation and assessment
2 – 6 July 2012 – Budapest
3 – 7 September 2012 – UK
10 – 14 September 2012 – UK
17 –21 September 2012 – Malta
24 – 28 September 2012 – Porto
1 – 5 October 2012 – UK
8 – 12 October 2012 – Porto
15 – 19 October 2012 – Budapest
22 – 26 October 2012 – UK
5 – 9 November 2012 Avignon (please note the language for this course is French)
5 – 9 November 2012 – Porto
12 – 16 November 2012 – Porto
12 – 16 November 2012 – Bonn (please note the language for this course is German)

Food hygiene and controls
Meat and meat products courses 2012
20 – 25 May 2012 – Brno
17 – 22 June 2012 – Eisenstadt
16 – 21 September 2012
14 – 19 October 2012 - Brno

Milk and dairy products courses 2012
10 – 15 June 2012 – Brescia
8 – 13 July 2012 – Dublin
9 – 14 September 2012 – Budapest
7 – 12 October 2012 - Brescia

Fishery products and live bivalve molluscs courses 2012
10 – 15 June 2012 – Hirtshals
15 – 20 July 2012 – Howth
9 – 14 September 2012 – Chioggia
30 September – 5 October 2012 - Chioggia

Baby Food courses 2012
2 – 6 July 2012 – Trim
11 – 16 November 2012 - Barcelona

Regulation 669/2009 courses 2011*
Best practice on increased level of official controls under Regulation 669/2009 on certain feed and food of non-animal origin.
23 – 25 May 2012 – Rotterdam, Holland
27 – 29 June 2012 – Valencia, Spain
12 – 14 September 2012 – Riga, Latvia

*these courses are only suitable for officers who work at Designated Points of Entry (DPEs) as detailed in Regulation 669/2009

Feed law courses**
18 – 22 June 2012 - Budapest, Hungary (TR09)
24 – 28 September 2012 - Budapest, Hungary (TR10)

**these courses are only suitable for officers who undertake official controls at a range of feed businesses, including feed mills and additive manufacturers

Training courses on Microbiological Criteria and Control of Zoonoses
Microbiological criteria
23- 26 October 2012: Dublin
13 – 16 November 2012: Lisbon

Control of Zoonoses
9 – 12 October 2012: Dublin
6 – 9 November 2012: Lisbon

Food additives and the control of their use and marketing
15 – 18 May 2012: Lisbon
12 – 15 June 2012: Valencia
3 – 6 July 2012: Athens
9 – 12 October 2012: Lisbon
6 – 9 November 2012: Milan
4 – 7 December 2012: Lisbon
22 – 25 January 2013: Madrid
19 – 22 February 2013: Valencia
16 – 19 April 2013: Milan
4 – 7 June 2013: Madrid
24 – 27 September 2013: Lisbon

EC 'Better Training for Safer Food initiative': Training courses on Risk Assessment
10 – 15 September 2012 Microbiological – Vilnius
1 – 5 October 2012 Chemical – Vilnius
19 – 23 November 2012 Nutrition – Vilnius
3 – 7 December 2012 Pest – Milan
4 – 8 February 2013 Genetically Modified Organisms and other biotechnologies – Milan
25 February – 1 March 2013 Chemical – Milan
11 -–15 March 2013 Microbiological – Berlin
8 – 12 April 2013 Nutrition – Berlin
8 – 12 April 2013 Genetically Modified Organisms and other biotechnologies – Vilnius
29 April – 3 May 2013 Chemical –Berlin
13 – 17 May 2013 Pest –Vilnius