ONSSA Approval Application File and Sanitary Inspection: Checklist

What must the file contain, document by document?

Two parts, whose content is set by Article 1 of Order 244-13 and repeated in the files downloadable from ONSSA’s page. ONSSA (Office National de Sécurité Sanitaire des Produits Alimentaires) is Morocco’s national food safety office. Start with the form: it identifies the applicant, the premises and the activities for which you are seeking sanitary approval (agrément) or sanitary authorisation (autorisation). That last point governs everything else: an activity that is not listed will not be covered. If you are unsure which regime applies, read our ONSSA sanitary authorisation guide first.

Only applications that follow the template and come with all the documents are admissible (Decree, Article 6). The receipt issued on filing is not an approval, and it says so in so many words.

For a foreign group setting up a Moroccan subsidiary, two rows of this table deserve early attention: the person who signs must hold documented powers for the Moroccan entity, and the building permit must match the building actually in use.

How do you draw plans that pass the file review?

By drawing how the site works, not just the building. The inspector reads on the plan what Article 32 of the decree requires of every food establishment:

• a forward flow of products (marche en avant) with no backtracking, from the least processed to the most processed and from the least clean to the cleanest;
• no crossing of production lines;
• separation of the clean area from the dirty area;
• immediate, direct and rapid removal of waste to dedicated rooms;
• separate places for packaging and for cleaning and disinfection products;
• toilets that do not open onto product handling areas;
• staff facilities suited to the headcount, separated by gender.

Use three colours on the general layout plan: products, staff, waste. Add drinking water inlets, drains and every water point. If two arrows cross, the inspector will ask about it; better to have asked the question yourself first. Have the plan signed by the person who knows the process, not only by the architect.

What goes into the technical data sheet and the manual?

The technical data sheet answers ten headings, a) to j): nature of the activity; location and utilities (drinking water, electricity, sewerage); total and covered area; sanitary description of the premises, equipment and materials and operating conditions (work planning, expected headcount, seasonal or not); product category and trade name; raw materials and ingredients with their origin; packing and packaging materials; detailed production flow diagrams; daily or annual production and storage capacities; means of transport where applicable. A sheet consistent with the plans speeds up the compliance review; a sheet announcing a headcount the changing rooms cannot hold slows it down.

The manual depends on the regime:

In its regulations section, ONSSA publishes the orders approving twelve good practice guides, from industrial milling to virgin olive oils. Check first whether your activity has one. To build the HACCP programme itself, our HACCP plan and ONSSA approval page goes through the seven principles and the twelve Codex steps.

How do you prepare for the sanitary inspection visit?

By preparing one piece of evidence per heading of the report. The visit takes place no later than 45 days after the file is found compliant, on a date set by mutual agreement (Decree, Article 8; CP 05, point 3.3). A committee of inspectors checks location, design, layout, installations, equipment and materials, and intended operation. The report template in Order 244-13 classes each finding as compliant or non-compliant, with corrective actions and a timetable.

The day before, walk round the site with this grid, as the committee would. For a fishery products establishment, ONSSA’s sanitary opinion adds a heading on the technical parameters of equipment; our seafood and canning page covers that sector.

What happens after the visit, favourable or not?

Unfavourable opinion. The non-conformities and recommendations are notified to you by letter within at most 15 working days (Decree, Article 15). Deal with them one by one, with a photo, an invoice or a record as evidence, then notify the provincial service in writing: a new visit is carried out under the same conditions.

Favourable opinion. The approval or authorisation is drawn up on the template in Order 244-13 and issued by the ONSSA regional directorate. It carries a number: activity code, province code, receipt number, last two digits of the year. This number must appear on your documents, correspondence, advertising and packaging (Decree, Article 14).

From the first day of operation, open the register of regular sanitary inspections provided for in Order 1063-15: A4 format, cover page, 100 numbered pages, one entry per visit with its findings, recommendations, your actions and your deadlines. Keep own-check records for at least five years (Law 28-07, Article 9). Fill in the cleaning and disinfection plan sheets every day: they are presented during regular inspections (Decree, Article 68).

Which mistakes cost the most time?

• Declaring one activity instead of all of them: approval is issued for named activities, and a forgotten sauce, contract packing or cold storage activity is not covered. Procedure code CP 05 only provides for an update when the operator or the name changes: before starting a new activity, ask the provincial office that issued the approval which steps to follow.
• Choosing the regime from the product name rather than from the process.
• Filing plans without flows, or plans that no longer match the building.
• Copying another site’s manual: the inspector compares it with your lines.
• Training the team after the visit: the staff heading is checked from the very first one.
• Forgetting that the visit can cover the water, ice or steam that comes into contact with products.
• Changing operator or company name without asking the issuing service to update the approval.

Is your file complete?

• The form lists every real activity on the site, and the regime of each has been checked.
  
• Identity documents, powers, articles of association and the commercial register certificate are attached.
  
• The building permit and proof of address match the premises actually operated.
  
• The site location plan is at 1:1000 and the general layout plan between 1:100 and 1:300.
  
• The general layout plan shows products, staff, waste, drinking water and wastewater.
  
• The technical data sheet fills in all ten headings and is consistent with the plans.
  
• The manual matches the regime: HACCP own-check programme, or procedures based on the good practice guide.
  
• Hygiene and HACCP training certificates are available.
  
• Medical surveillance of staff is organised.
  
• The traceability and recall procedure has been tested on a mock batch.
  
• The register of visits and the cleaning plan sheets are ready.
  

The time and resources needed to tick these boxes are covered in our article on ONSSA approval cost and timeline.