Dutch General Inspection Service

Foundation Dutch General Inspection Service for Agricultural Seed and Seed Potatoes (NAK)

About this organisation

Promoting, monitoring and safeguarding the quality of Dutch seed and seed potatoes of agricultural crops is the NAK's mission. The NAK is the Dutch General Inspection Service for agricultural seed and seed potatoes. Statutory inspections are carried out by the NAK on behalf of and under the supervision of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.

Tasks & competences

• To promote, by means of inspections, the marketing, further trade and export of reliable propagation material of agricultural crops;
• Issuing certificates of approval;
• Monitoring compliance with regulations;
• Carrying out phytosanitary export and import inspections and authenticating the phytosanitary certificate.

The NAK itself has impactful algorithms, but these algorithms are a literal implementation of the calculation rules it receives and uses from European and Dutch laws and regulations.

Thus, the NAK's impactful algorithms fall under the category B exception (algorithms that automate a manual work instruction) and do not need to be included in the algorithm register.

Because the calculation rules are public and the NAK is obliged to implement them, there is sufficient openness about the use of these algorithms and no reason to include them in the algorithm register.