Food Safety Inspection - Consumer Complaint
Service description
In an era of globalized markets and transcontinental trade routes, ensuring food safety is an essential component of Hesse’s consumer protection strategy. By monitoring goods produced and traded locally as well as those imported from abroad, we can protect consumers from sources of danger while ensuring the highest possible safety standards.
The comprehensive “from farm to fork” monitoring principle is a holistic approach to greater food safety that encompasses all elements that may affect the safety of food at every point in the food chain.
One of the main tasks of the Hessian Food Safety Authority is to protect consumers from health hazards posed by food and feed, as well as consumer goods and cosmetics, and to counteract the misleading or deceptive practices directed at consumers.
If you have noticed a violation of food law or have come into contact with a questionable consumer product or cosmetic, you should always first submit your complaint to the seller or restaurant operator. As a general rule, in cases of justified complaints, the business itself will provide compensation or remedy the situation. However, you should involve
the food safety authorities especially if your complaint is ignored, if such incidents occur repeatedly, or if health problems arise.
In such cases, the complaint form available on the “Verbraucherfenster Hessen” website allows you to report your findings. Your
reports will be processed immediately and—if necessary—forwarded to the relevant food safety authority to initiate further action.If you experience health problems after consuming a food product, using a cosmetic product, or handling consumer goods, or if you feel misled by its composition, presentation, or advertising claims, you can submit a sample for testing to the food safety authority responsible for your place of residence. Note
: The consumer complaint should be filed promptly so that adverse changes to the sample can be ruled out as much as possible.
For food items that require refrigeration, care should be taken to ensure they are transported in a refrigerated state.
What documents are required?
To ensure the integrity of the chain of custody, it is always helpful to provide as many documents as possible that verify the sample's identity (e.g., receipts, advertisements, original packaging).
What fees apply?
You will not incur any costs or fees for the analysis of the sample submitted with the complaint. Note
: However, no reimbursement is available for the sample submitted with the complaint (e.g., for the purchase price).
Legal basis
What else should I know?
You can find the latest alerts and information on the portal of the federal states and the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) at "Lebensmittelwarnung.de."
Remarks
For more information about official food safety inspections in Hesse, please visit the website of the Hessian Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection.