 | Visits from authorities can happen in any Hub at any time. Certain authorities have the right to drop by at any time for unannounced inspections. This applies in particular to offices for occupational safety, veterinary offices, health offices and the public order office. |
Process
As soon as one of the offices visits the Hub and the Hub Manager is not present, they must be contacted immediately by the Shift Lead by phone and come to the Hub. If the Hub Manager is on vacation or sick, the substitute or City/Regional Manager must be contacted directly and come to the Hub.
During the visit:
Be friendly at all times;
During the times, intensive attention must be paid to the correct behavior of the Riders;
Refer to the appropriate department for all more complex organizational issues. For a list of responsibilities, see below.
Be proactive and take the initiative by providing relevant documents, such as temperature lists or training records or pest monitoring records. Show that you are following guidelines and processes in this section (see right side of this page).
Never forget to document the contact data of the controlling person, and the reason for their visit.
After the visit:
All agency visits must be uploaded through the Zendesk ticket system immediately after the visit, including all documents handed out at the site. Also, verbally discussed points and documents in writing should be uploaded as well.
Afterwards, the responsible department will contact you directly and support you in rectifying all deficits and, if necessary, prepare a response letter to the relevant office.
Which authorities are there and who is responsible for which department in urgent cases
Veterinary Office/Food Safety - Imani Reiser
Occupational safety and health - Cornelia Foese
Building Inspection - Kevin Rowedel
Public Order Office - Regional Manager/Area Manager
Neighbor complaints - Regional Manager/Area Manager
Police - Regional Manager/Area Manager
Customs - Regional Manager/Area Manager
Repair requests
If damages are identified or repairs are requested during the inspection, politely ask for an extension of the deadline, citing delivery delays and long wait times for contractor appointments.
Immediately escalate all existing repair request tickets identified during the inspection. If there are damages for which there is no existing ticket, create a new one. This applies even to closed tickets that have not been resolved.
Documentation
Request that the inspector send all reports/protocols via email and promptly forward them to HQ. If necessary, ask if you can take a photo of the report.
For audits from the bio certification body ÖkoP, make sure you go through the ÖkoP Checklist with your team.
Types of food inspections
Regular inspections
Planned inspections
Planned inspections are unannounced visits from the veterinary office to ensure compliance with legal requirements and to ensure the safety and quality of food. Our hubs are usually visited every 1-2 years, unless significant deficiencies/hygiene violations were identified during the last inspection.
Sampling
Authorities are authorized to withhold products for food sampling to test for residues or composition. Sampling is always done with a protocol that specifies the type of product, quantity, and reason for sampling.
If significant violations of food safety are noticed during sampling, the inspector may spontaneously conduct an inspection of the entire operation. This is typically done immediately and is subject to a fee. Therefore, please pay attention to good hygiene practices and employee behaviour.
Special inspections
Complaint inspections/suspicion inspections
Consumers can report violations or concerns regarding food safety/work safety to the competent authority at any time. The authority must then carry out a suspicion inspection in the operation as quickly as possible. This inspection is unannounced and subject to a fee if suspicion is confirmed.
Follow-up inspections
Follow-up inspections are carried out whenever an operation has not passed a previous inspection or violations of legal standards have been identified. Follow-up inspections serve to ensure that the hub has implemented the necessary corrective measures and that deficiencies or violations have been eliminated.
Consequences of inspections
The consequences of inspections depend on the severity of the violations:
Instruction: verbal or written admonition without legal consequences.
Warning: a formal warning with the threat of further measures, fines may be imposed.
Order: a regulatory order that requires specific measures. If an order is not followed, further measures such as fines, business bans, or closures may be imposed.
FAQ
Preparing the hub for unexpected authority visits
Keep the doors closed. To prevent pests entering our hubs, please keep the exterior doors always closed. The only exception is during deliveries and pickups – then they can be temporarily open, but need to be closed right after. Please print this “door closed” sign and hang it on concerning doors.
Read more about pest prevention here (last dropdown).Reference the cleaning schedule. For hubs serviced by dks, arnold and MMCompact: to show proof that we have a cleaning schedule with daily cleanings performed by cleaning companies, print the Leistungsverzeichnis and hang it visibly in the hub. Hubs serviced by cemax should already have a Leistungsverzeichnis hanging in the area of their cleaning equipment.
Read more about cleanliness at the hub here.Refresh your bio certification knowledge. To ensure everyone in the hub is aware of how to deal with audits from the bio certification body ÖkoP, please go with the team through the ÖkoP Checklist. Read more about bio products here.
Maintain the general order and use the ticketing system. Do a walkthrough of your hub and note down all hygienic and property issues. If needed, create tickets through the corresponding Zendesk flow:
Tickets for hygiene & cleaning: General service provider feedback > Service provider: Cleaning
Tickets for other food safety topics: Food safety issues
Tickets for pests:
Pest control feedback: General service provider feedback > Service provider: pest control
Reporting pests: Pest problem
Tickets on property damages: Repair requests
Why is it important?
In case of very bad results from a Hub during an inspection, the offices have the right to close the Hub immediately. Therefore, a good performance during the visit and immediate reporting via the Zendesk ticket system.
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