The Croatian Food Agency has released a report by the Food Safety Centre on the results of self-control measures implemented by food producers during the last three years. A total of 15,281 food samples were analysed. More than 5,000 samples are processed every year. The results show that Croatian consumers are occasionally sold food infected with bacteria and mould, reports Poslovni.hr on February 1, 2019.
The food samples were analysed against the microbiological parameters in accordance with the Microbiological Food Criteria Decree and Guide, and the results have been processed together and summarised, according to the Croatian Agricultural and Food Agency’s report. It should be noted that the report by the Food Safety Centre does not state during which three years the inspections were carried out.
The results of the report indicate the presence of an increased number of aerobic mesophilic bacteria in most food categories. They are followed by enterobacteria, then moulds and yeasts, and in a small number of food categories, the contamination with bacteria was also established.
It should be noted that the increased number of aerobic mesophilic bacteria in food usually indicates old food and food with poorer microbiological quality.
Food safety is an imperative in placing the products on the market, which is why in the food industry, at the industrial and crafts level, the production is regulated by a number of regulations (laws, decisions, regulations, guides) whose criteria the food must meet at the time of manufacture and when being placed on the market, until the end of its stated shelf life.
EU rules on food hygiene throughout the food chain are the same in all member states. Food business entities bear the primary responsibility for food safety. This means that, according to the legal provisions, the entities are obliged to establish a self-control system for their production so that the food they produce satisfies the food safety criteria.
Translated from Poslovni.hr.
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