Inspection for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection (hereinafter: the Inspection) conducts control under the EU rules governing official controls under the procedures laid down in national law. Food law is one of the most comprehensive areas of the EU acquis. It is collectively referred to as "Union agri-food chain legislation". Its correct application contributes to the functioning of the EU internal market. In order to ensure the free movement of goods between EU Member States, the proportion of harmonised rules exceeds 90%. Inspections as part of official controls must be carried out in accordance with EU rules.

The Inspection conducts official controls as provided for by the EU legislation (the surveillance of imports of goods and animals and the surveillance of the slaughter of animals). In other areas, the Inspection carries out regular surveillance that is based on a risk assessment, while taking into account the nature of the business, the history of the operator, controls performed by operators, information concerning risks and other information.

The Inspection carries out controls on the basis of risk assessments in the following areas:

• animal health,
• animal protection,
• the identification and registration of animals,
• the use of veterinary medicinal products and determination of their residues,
• animal by-products,
• the distribution, production and processing of feed,
• the production, processing and distribution of food,
• the safety and quality of food and food labelling,
• the supervision of the providers of delegated control tasks,
• plant health, plant reproductive material and plant protection products,
• the import of live animals, food of animal and/or vegetable origin, and the import of other commodities, where specific checks are carried out for the release of goods into the territory of the EU,
• control of fraudulent practices concerning food, animals and plants, the "Food Fraud Network", and cooperation in the context of administrative assistance between Member States.

Inspectors must impose measures to achieve compliance with the inspection and administrative acts in all areas and, in the case of non-compliance, impose the relevant sanctions. In addition to monitoring tasks, the Inspection validates certificates for the export of animals, foodstuffs and plants and thus, on behalf of the State, complies with health and hygiene conditions required for exported consignments. Without such certified guarantees, consignments may not be imported to the territory of third countries. The control of the fulfilment of conditions for imported consignments which are released into the common European market is applied to those consignments which are destined for the territory of the Republic of Slovenia or the territory of any other Member State and equally to those consignments that are only destined for transit through the territory of the European Union.

The Inspection regularly cooperates with the Financial Administration, including the Market Inspectorate, the Police, the Health Inspectorate and other inspection bodies.