The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, in concert with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, has launched the project “Support to strengthening the food safety system” for 2014-2015. The general objective is to strengthen the food safety system in Moldova and to adjust the national legislation and food manufacturing standards to the European ones, IPN reports.
The project was launched by a workshop that will be followed by two-day courses for the specialists involved in the food quality surveillance and monitoring process.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Gheorghe Gaberi said that food safety is a vast area that requires increased attention. The EU market is very strict in terms of food safety and now that Moldova and the EU created a Free Trade Area, the national products must meet the European quality standards. “There are yet problems that need to be solved and we welcome the initiatives to support us in this process. During two years, we will benefit from the support of Dutch experts, who will help us to enrich the experience of the national inspectors,” he stated.
Ion Sula, director general of the National Food Safety Agency (ANSA), noted that an important project for the Agency and for the while country was launched. “The ANSA is one of the main beneficiaries of this project that centers on the transfer of experience from colleagues from the EU and on the management of risks to the traceability system implemented by them. It is important that all the consumers, both the national and foreign ones, know where the product was made, how it was transported and in what conditions it was sold. I’m sure that the experience will help us to develop the Agency,” he said.
The project is supported financially by the Food and Agriculture Organization, which provided a sum of US$400,000.
