Food of Animal Origin Hygiene Service (SIAOA)

The Food of Animal Origin Hygiene Service is an advanced division which operates within the Department of Veterinary Prevention.

The Service deals with the safety and hygiene safeguard of food of animal origin and its derivatives: meat, milk, fish, eggs, honey etc., during the stages of production, processing, conservation, transportation, storage, wholesale distribution and retail sale.
The services provided by means of official control are the following:

• Inspections in approved slaughterhouses for domestic or wild animals;
• Inspections and surveillance in approved and registered facilities for the production, processing, conservation, transportation and marketing of food of animal origin and its derivatives;
• Surveillance of animals welfare, upon arrival at slaughterhouses and during the stages of the slaughtering process;
• Epidemiological surveillance and related epidemiological investigations, following clinical notifications of toxin-infections derived from food of animal origin;
• Management of national and international food alerts, and monitoring of food traceability and trackability;
• Sampling plans for the research of residues of contaminants and pathogens in slaughtered animals meat and in food of animal origin;
• Recognition and registration in Food Companies Registry;
• Monitoring of import-export and intra-Union trade of food of animal origin.