Course info

The course addresses the following topics:

• EU Control System and consistency with international trade rules (WTO, SPS, TBT);
• Organisation of the official controls on agri-food products in the EU: legal framework and practical experiences;
• Competent Authorities and Food Business Operators’ responsibilities and rules governing trade and imports of agri-food products from non-EU countries;
• EU information management systems and e-certification;
• Good practices, procedures and requirements relating to issuance of e-certificate: practical examples;
• Overview on EU agri-food fraud policy;
• Vulnerability of the food chain to agri-food fraud;
• Agri-food fraud: competent authorities and industry prevention role; Vulnerability analyses and control prioritisation;
• Investigation techniques: introduction to criminal law related to the food area, theory and practical examples of investigation, how to use control rules to investigate a suspicion of fraud, Good practices, tools and procedures relating to investigation techniques;
• Conducting an investigation: basic rules and practical examples;
• Overview on EU digital trade and EU e-commerce policy;
• Controls on e-commerce: risk assessment, IT tools and evidence gathering, control purchase; Good practices on e-commerce surveillance for preventing threats;
• Cooperation on e-commerce (cooperation with stakeholders including trading, producer and consumer organisations and market places/selling platforms, cross-border cooperation);
• Establishing communication channels with police and judiciary authorities;
• Setting up permanent information gathering from consumers;
• Setting up permanent information gathering from "whistleblowers".

This Training Programme has been designed for the profiles and positions described below. Please verify compliance with the selection criteria before submitting or validating applications.

• officials from competent authorities in non-EU countries involved in planning and organising official control activities (preferably at national/regional levels) in relation to fraudulent practices across the agri-food chain.