Saxon state parliament adopts reform of food monitoring

The Saxon state parliament passed a reform of food monitoring on Wednesday. The "Act on the Revision of Food, Feed and Tobacco Law in the Free State of Saxony" stipulates that in future a six-person so-called Interdisciplinary Food Safety Control Unit (IKL) will support the inspections of the responsible food and veterinary offices of the districts and independent cities, as announced by the Ministry of Social Affairs on Wednesday. The IKL is also the point of contact in very complex cases or for special toxicological, microbiological, legal and technical issues, explained Social Affairs Minister Petra Köpping (SPD). "In this way, we are increasing safety for consumers on the one hand and relieving the burden on the locally responsible food control authorities on the other."