Food monitoring - Consumer complaint

In times of globalized markets and transcontinental trade routes, ensuring food safety is an essential part of the Hessian consumer protection concept. By monitoring locally produced and traded goods as well as goods imported from abroad, we can protect consumers from sources of danger and at the same time guarantee the best possible safety standards.

The comprehensive monitoring principle from farm to fork is a holistic approach to food safety that takes into account all elements that can affect the safety of food at every point in the food chain.

One of the main tasks of Hessian food monitoring is to protect consumers from health hazards arising from food and animal feed, as well as consumer goods and cosmetics, and to prevent consumers from being misled and deceived.

If you have noticed a violation of food law or have come into contact with a questionable consumer product or cosmetic product, you should always make your complaint to the seller or restaurant owner first. As a rule, if the complaint is justified, the business itself will provide compensation or rectify the problem.

However, you should contact the food control authorities in particular if your complaint is not heeded, the incidents become more frequent or health problems occur.
In such cases, you can use the complaint form at Verbraucherfenster Hessen to report your findings.

Your information will be processed immediately and - if necessary - forwarded to the responsible food monitoring authority for the initiation of further measures.

If you have health complaints after consuming a foodstuff, using a cosmetic product or handling consumer goods, or if you feel misled by its composition, presentation or advertising, you can submit a complaint sample to the food monitoring authority responsible for your place of residence.

Note: The consumer complaint should be made promptly so that adverse changes to the sample can be ruled out as far as possible.

In the case of foods that require refrigeration, care should be taken to ensure refrigerated transportation.

Contact the competent food control authority

In order to secure the chain of evidence, it is always helpful if as many documents as possible are submitted regarding the identity of the sample (e.g. proof of purchase, advertisements, original packaging).

• German Food and Feed Code (Lebensmittel-, Bedarfsgegenstände- und Futtermittelgesetzbuch - LFGB)
• Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the hygiene of foodstuffs
  

You will not incur any costs or fees for the examination of the complaint sample.

Note: However, no reimbursement of costs for the complaint sample (e.g. for the purchase price) is possible.

Current warnings and information can be found on the portal of the federal states and the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) at "Lebensmittelwarnung.de".

Further information on official food monitoring in Hesse can be found on the website of the Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture and Consumer Protection