[Securing food quality for consumer protection]

Ensuring the perfect wholesomeness and impeccable quality of foodstuffs in general and foods of animal origin, in particular, starting from their very production via any further processing and handling to their marketing in the retail trade, is also among the tasks incumbent on the veterinarian. Against the backdrop of the completion of the European Single Market, numerous veterinary professional directives were adopted in the best interest of consumer protection and the free movement of foods of animal origin. These directives concern both general inspection provisions and specific sanitary requirements covering the handling of myriad foods of animal origin such as meat, meat products, poultry meat, milk, fish and fish products. This development spawned novel tasks which the official veterinarians, in particular, but also veterinary surgeons, have to take care of. Hence, it is bound to have some impacts on veterinary training as well as on further and in-service training.