An Assessment of the Importance of Hazards and Measures to Ensure the Safety of Food Packaging according to Representatives of the Sanitary Inspection in Poland

Abstract

Ensuring the safety of materials that come into contact with food is based on the principle that a person who places the product on the market is responsible for its safety and ensures that the products are safe. An operating system of supervision is meant to monitor the market and should react only in the event of a threat. Safety oversight is exercised in Poland by the Packaging Trade Inspection, Quality Inspection of Agricultural and Food, and Veterinary Inspection; however, Sanitary Inspection possesses the most comprehensive competence in the safety oversight of food packaging. The aim of the research was to evaluate the safety assessment of packaging materials and packaging done by representatives of Sanitary Inspection. The scope of the research was to evaluate the impact of various factors on the safety of packaged foods, the importance of the safety hazards of packaging materials and packaging, and assess the validity of the various activities affecting the safety associated with the use of the systems and standards of safety or quality management, conducting surveillance activities and enforcing document requirements from suppliers. The research also covered the knowledge possessed by Sanitary Inspection workers on the legal requirements for food packaging.