Welcome to the website from EWFC

EWFC stands for “European Working Community for Food-Inspection and Consumer Protection” and is an organisation that brings together professional associations and organisations that work to deliver official Food Safety-Inspections in the Member-States of the EU and UK.

EWFC was founded in 1991 by Germany and France, and registered as an association in the chamber of commerce in Metz (France)

EWFC stands for promoting uniform and high-quality Food Safety Inspection in the EU and UK, and looking after the professional interests of its nearly 6.500 Members.

At first the aims of the association were the exchange of information and experience, to help with the development of structures of food inspection, (cross-border) training of food-inspectors and future co-operation in the EU. So, the main task was to make a European organisation for staff and professionals working with food-monitoring and consumer protection.

The EWFC made it a rule to try to contact professional organizations working within the field of food surveillance in all Member-States of the EU: both food (veterinary and non-veterinary), meat inspectors, official veterinarians, lab staff, food-technicians, food-chemists, doctors and academics in food safety in the broadest perspective.

The Community`s Aims and Objectives are to promote the professional interests of its members, exchange and share experience and continued training, learning and co-operation with EWFC members and other expert organisations at EU Level.

EWFC organises meetings and discussions with European DG Health and Food Safety Commission officials to exchange views. Furthermore, EWFC has strong contacts with members of the European Parliament, Environment and Food and Health committees. This enables the organisation to express its views to those politicians and make them aware of current problems and forward suggestions and solutions for those problems.

The EWFC intends to continue in its role of contributor to the development of legislation through its contact with the European Commission and Parliament.

What has the EWFC achieved up to now?

• "Guidelines for good control practice" and "Guidelines for official sampling"

In 1999/2000 EWFC constructed and presented to the EU Commission the above guidelines for official food control. These guidelines made an authoritative contribution to the harmonisation of official food control and official sampling in EU member states and beyond. They were more or less the forerunners for the package of four regulations that were introduced in later years, concerning food safety and hygiene. Furthermore, these guidelines were considered to improve quality management systems for official food control in a number of member states.

These guidelines offered good information and assistance in the construction of structures of official food surveillance and controls in the new member states, which joined the EU in the beginning of the years after 2000. We also noted that lots of the downloads of the guidelines were from other parts of the world, like South-America and Asia. 

• Twinning projects

EWFC itself, but also individuals from the EWFC members were involved multiple times in national projects but also in EU projects (like TAIEX and Twinning) to "aid development" for strengthening the new member-countries work and control structures to comply with the EU rules. We organised seminars, delivered lectures and teaching programs and did physical inspections with the colleagues on the spot. Furthermore, members of EWFC were involved in intergovernmental framework agreements and programs all to enhance working together and share knowledge, skills and best practises.

• Exchange programs

EWFC received financial subsidies from the EU to cooperate, support and organise exchange programmes for food inspectors in European member states.

• Congresses and seminars

EWFC organises regular European Congresses and/or online seminars for technical and professional education, both online and on the ground.

The next congress is due in October 2023 in Vienna - Austria.

• EWFC-Network

We continue to build a Europe-wide network, directly or through bi-lateral contact from our members, that can be used by the associations and colleagues, for inter European exchange of information.

Get together is a beginning.
Hold together is a progress.
Work together is a success.
(Henry Ford)