Official Controls Regulation (OCR)

The Official Controls Regulation (OCR),¹ established by Regulation (EU) 2017/625, provides a single, integrated legislative framework for the organisation and performance of official controls across the agri-food chain. Its objective is to ensure the effective application of EU rules on food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, plant health, and plant protection products, thereby safeguarding human health, animal and plant health, and consumer interests.

The regulation applies to all stages of production, processing, and distribution, including feed safety, the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms, animal by-products, and related risk prevention measures. It requires competent authorities to perform official controls regularly, risk-based, and with appropriate frequency, generally without prior notice. Control activities include inspections of premises and equipment, verification of operators’ internal control systems, sampling and laboratory analysis, and audits. The OCR also establishes clear requirements on financing, obliging authorities to ensure sufficient staff and technical capacity and to recover costs through fees or charges for certain controls, notably at border/boundary control posts or following identified non-compliance. Transparency is strengthened through obligations to publish annual information on control activities, non-compliances detected, and penalties imposed.