The Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) is a specialised body under MAF that is responsible for the official controls of safety of food and feed throughout the whole food chain, including control of food safety and quality, food additives and beverages, animal health and welfare, plant protection and fertilizers, phytosanitary control, feed, border control. BFSA is established in 2011 and incorporates the former National Veterinary Service, the former National Plant Protection Service, and the former National Grain and Feed Service, as well as the regional food health inspectors, who were responsible for the control of food of non-animal origin in the Regional Health Inspectorates (former Regional Inspectorates for Public Health Protection and Control) under MH and the quality compliance of fresh fruits and vegetables (under MAF).

BFSA is the competent government authority responsible for official controls in Bulgaria with respect to phytosanitary issues, plant protection products and fertilisers, veterinary activities, animal health and welfare, animal by-products not intended for human consumption, feedstuff, raw materials and foodstuff, materials and articles intended for contact with food, and the quality compliance of fresh fruits and vegetables with the European Commission standards for placing on the market. with the exception of bottled natural mineral, spring and table water. The central level of BFSA comprises 9 specialized departments/directorates, which are aligned with the above-mentioned activities.

The agency’s central office is in Sofia. It also has 28 regional food safety directorates distributed across the country as well as five specialised structures: the National Diagnostic and Research Veterinary Institute, the Central Laboratory for Veterinary Control and Ecology, the Central Laboratory for Chemical Testing and Control, the Central Laboratory for Plant Quarantine, and the Central Laboratory for Qualification of Grain and Feed. There are also 9 accredited laboratories at regional level intended to analyze some of the samples taken by the OC.