This is laid down in § 12 of the Marketing Standards Act BGBl. I No. 68/2007 as amended. Accordingly, persons may be appointed as controlling bodies who

• have completed at least one vocational secondary school in the relevant field, or
• act as supervisory bodies appointed or commissioned in accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety and Consumer Protection Act (LMSVG) of 20 January 2006, BGBL I No. 13/2006, or
• have otherwise exercised an activity for a period of at least two years which gives rise to the expectation that they have acquired the relevant knowledge and skills in commodity science, and
• who have also successfully attended a course organised or recognised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management in which the legal and product knowledge required for an inspection is imparted.

Furthermore, the inspection bodies are obliged to undergo professional training and to familiarise themselves with the latest state of the relevant regulations.

The inspectors in the Section for Marketing Standards and IUU Fisheries also undergo continuous further training. In addition to in-house training courses, also within the framework of the AGES Academy, the supervisory bodies also have to complete international training courses.

Among others, the international workshops for fruit and vegetables in Bonn, the OECD supervised harmonization courses for fruit and vegetables in Slovakia (Mojmirovce), international training courses for fruit and vegetables in England (Reading), German monitoring conferences for eggs and poultry meat as well as further training events are attended regularly by the Federal Research Centre for Fisheries in Hamburg.

As part of the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, regular workshops organised by the Community Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) in Vigo (Spain) are also visited.