Performance Official Food Control in The Republic of Moldova: Results And Interpretations For 2016-2019

This study represents a trend of nonconformities analysis, established by authority for safety of aliments in matter of food safety. At the same time, this study presents the rate of non-compliance at the level of enterprises in relation to the number of controls performed during 2016-2019. During the analyzed period, there has been ascertained an essential increase in the number of official controls. Following the statistical analysis, there has been proved that the highest non-compliance rate is in the field of trade and public catering units (36.6%), in rapport with other control systems. This area represents the most balanced proportion of non-conformities detected in relation to the number of controls performed as well. Statistical analysis highlighted that on certain official control systems performed by the control authority, the high frequency of official controls is motivated by the results of previous controls.

In the Republic of Moldova in 2018 there was registered an important step in modernizing the legislative framework in the field of food safety, aimed at achieving a high level of protection of human health and consumer interests in relation to food safety. Law no. 306/2018 on food safety transposes the general criteria provided at EU level according to the general legislative provisions of EC No 178/2002. The mentioned normative act establishes the general competences of the food safety control and supervision authorities, as well as the responsibility of the operator in the food field. The authority with control attributions for food safety in the Republic of Moldova is the National Agency for Food Safety (ANSA). The creation of ANSA in 2013 aimed at unifying the official control system into an integrated system throughout the food chain. The official controls in the field of food safety are performed by the control authority based on the Multiannual Control Plan 2019-2022 (PMC). The multi-annual control plan was developed for the first time with the support of the BMZ / GIZ project "Amelioration Food Safety in the Republic of Moldova", and aims to planification and performance of official controls in accordance with EU requirements provided in the normative acts (EC No 852/2004, 2004EC No 853/2004, 2004EC No 2073/ 2005. At performing controls for food safety, the control authority is obliged to correlate the control actions in accordance with Law no. 131/2012 on performing state controls on entrepreneurial activity. Although in the Republic of Moldova the application of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System (HACCP) quality system has become mandatory since 1998, this opportunity to reduce food risk has not been fully implemented by operators.
Reforming of the National Standardization System presents an essential prerogative for economic operators in the food sector. Despite the fact that in the Republic of Moldova there have been adopted by ISO -700 international standards, of which 482 EU, however, they refer only to testing methods. The applied standards related to the product specifications are the old GOST from the Soviet period (Government of the Republic of Moldova, 2018).
Although food business operators have a responsibility to provide safe food, they should also have the main legal responsibility for food safety. In the absence of massive application of quality systems such as HACCP, the risk analysis and responsibility for the safe food is largely assumed by the competent authority for official control in the field of food safety.

Literature Review
The existence of a cohesive and without gaps regulation in the regulatory official control system, applied at all stages of production can minimize food risks. Statistical analysis, both qualitative and quantitative, can substantially help control planning and improve quality, so the use of statistical strategies will improve productivity, prevent unnecessary process adjustments, provide diagnostic information and provide directions for a cost-effective quality system (Steven M. Buco, 1990). Assessing the proportion of economic operators subject to control and food inspected according to the degree of risk is a major challenge. The calculation of the non-compliance rate in relation to the control rate presents a method of evaluation of different product groups or categories of economic operators (J. Lueckla, K. Weyermaira, M. Mattb, K. Mannerc and K. Fuchsa, 2019).

Materials and Methods
Despite the fact that in the Republic of Moldova the normative acts provide for the assumption of internal control by economic operators in the food field such as the HACCP model, at present this initiative is poorly applied. As mentioned by the European Commission in the Regulation (EC No 178/2002, 2002, the general law on food safety, the legal responsibility for food safety lies with the food business operator. However, during the period 2002, the European Commission ascertain that although this principle exists in some Member States and in some components of food law, in other components it is either
The application of the methodology proposed by the authors can establish in the interpretation of statistical data the case of the Republic of Moldova the performance of official control in food safety. The results of the interpretation may establish the effectiveness and necessity of planning the frequency of controls on certain official control systems.
An indicator, set with positive values for the non-compliance index control system (Inc) indicates that the non-compliance rate is higher than the proportion of planned controls. It can therefore be interpreted that the authority can justify the frequency of its checks on these undertakings by placing them at a higher risk.

The system of official control in the food sector in the Republic of Moldova.
In the last decade, the Republic of Moldova has registered positive trends at the initiative of revising the package of normative acts in the field of food safety and harmonizing the practices of official control to EU requirements. The purpose of adjusting domestic producers to the requirements of international standards, in terms of food safety, animal health, plant health being the only possibility of access to the EU market.
To meet these requirements in 2013, the National Agency for Food Safety was created. Characteristic of the countries of South-Eastern Europe, especially the post-Soviet ones with a control system whose control attributions and legal responsibilities are taken over by the state institutions, the Moldovan authorities delegated the responsibility ,for a transitional period to the national control authority ANSA.
The attributions of ANSA were drawn through the prism of the legislative act no. 113 of May 18, 2012 regarding the establishment of the principles and general requirements of the legislation on food safety, normative act completely revised by Law 306/2018 on food safety, in force on 01.04.2019.
The objectives pursued following the implementation of Law no. 306/2018 on food safety are: -the application of an integrated control system throughout the food chain, -increasing the requirements for food safety control, -application to food safety information systems, -aligning laboratory activities with EU requirements. The authors P. Svrčinová and V. Janout (2018) address as a criterion for evaluating the official control system in EU Member States, actions to improve and amend normative acts to EC standards and recommendations. In the Republic of Moldova compliance with food safety legislation, is verified by the national food safety authority ANSA through official controls.
In the absence of a system for disclosing inspections in the field of food safety at national level which, according to the authors J Kaskela,, A Vainio, S Ollilad, J Lundéna (2019), aim to increase the effectiveness of official controls, the analysis of the results of official controls is of increased interest for the evaluation of the control system in the Republic of Moldova.
The results of official food safety controls are presented in the annual reports on the implementation of ANSA's multi-annual control plan. The analysis in question is limited to a period of 4 years.
The procedural aspects of the inspections are established in the Multiannual Control Plan 2019-2022. The frequency of official controls is determined according to the risk group in which the economic operator is classified. In the risk analysis, if the assessment of a risk criterion shows that the person subject to control produces, processes / handles products or carries out several types of activities, which fall into different degrees of risk, the highest degree of risk is assigned. risk according to GD 1280/2018. History of the results of the last compliance check with the establishment of nonconformities and their characteristics indicate a high degree of risk.
Another important factor in determining the degree of risk of the operator is the type of food product and the raw material used to obtain the food.
The application of risk analysis principles and critical control points HACCP becomes a mandatory factor in determining the frequency of controls. Food business operators who have not elaborate permanent procedures based on HACCP principles are classified in the increased risk group with a maximum score of 5 points in this position.   Zanet, S. Stanciu (2020).
The data in Figure 1 show that the control authority has essentially reduced the number of unplanned controls, but in parallel the number of planned controls has increased. It should be noted that official unplanned controls may occur as a result of complaints from the consumer. Another basic factor in carrying out planned official controls is the possession of truthful information on the existence of a high risk. Increasing the number of planned official controls and reducing the number of unplanned controls summarizes the fact that the authority applies the history of the result of the last control to the planning of controls.
The system of official state controls in accordance with the Multiannual National Control Plan 2018-2022 (ANSA, 2018), is: • Control system in the sanitary-veterinary field (SCSV) • Control system for zoo-technical surveillance (SCSZ) • Control system of processing units for food of animal origin (SCFAO) • Control system of processing units for food of non-animal origin (SCFVO) • Control system of wine products, ethyl alcohol, beer and alcoholic production.   During 2016-2019, the highest control rate within the official control system was registered in the field of trade units and public catering (SCPC) with a rate of 36.6%, and the rate of non-conformities being 36.01% . The index of complaints for nonconformities being Inc = -0.59. This indicator would mean that the ratio between noncompliances and controls is equivalent.
The system of official controls of food processing units of non-animal origin (SCFVO), registers Inc = 21.01 for the years 2016-2019. The rate of non-conformities for this system is 24.68%.
For the zoo-technical surveillance control system (SCSZ), Inc = -14.93, and the noncompliance rate is 10.89%. This indicator demonstrates that for this type of units the controls are planned to be performed at a high frequency, without taking into account the results of previous controls.
The control system of food processing units of animal origin (SCFAO), records values of Inc = -3.18 for the period 2016-2019.

Conclusions
The system of official control in the Republic of Moldova in the last decade shows positive trends regarding the revision of legislative packages. A negative aspect of the control system is the lack of massive application of HCCP principles by economic operators in the food business. This factor obliges state authorities to ensure food safety control in all aspects through the national food safety authority. systems shows positive trends in the planning and performance of controls based on the results of official controls. The weakest link of the system of official controls are registered by the system of official controls in the field of animal breeding where the number of nonconformities detected cannot motivate such a high frequency of the number of controls.
The system of official controls in trade units and catering establishments records the highest rate of controls performed, but at the same time the proportion between controls and non-conformities is balanced.