The National Food Safety Agency is functional and will carry out the first inspections in June, the institution’s head Gheorghe Gaberi said in a meeting. The agency was created by a Government Decision on January 16, 2013. Its objective is to monitor the safety of foods from the producer up to shops and public eateries, IPN reports.
There were set up 39 local subdivisions and 15 checkpoints at the border and customs. “There were drafted the programs of inspections in three areas: health of plants, health of animals, and safety of animals. We will make sure that the EU safety standards are respected. At least 12 million lei is needed to carry out the planned inspections. We hope we will obtain this money when the 2013 budget is amended,” said Gheorghe Gaberi.
He also said that the laboratories are an important chain in guaranteeing food safety. The agency worked out a strategy for reforming them and is trying to obtain funds from donors for outfitting them. The next step will be the approval of tariffs for every examination. “Without outfitted laboratories and without the accreditation of laboratories according to the European and international procedures, we will be unable to guarantee the safety of our products and will not gain credibility on the domestic and foreign markets,” said the director.
According to him, the assistance provided by the World Bank through the Competitive Agriculture Project will help the institution to increase its capacities and to endow the head office with information systems needed for communicating with the local subdivisions. Four border checkpoints will be outfitted. Money for equipping another 10 checkpoints may be obtained from the USAID CEED II Project and other donors.
The creation of the National Food Safety Agency is envisioned in the draft Deep and Comprehensible Free Trade Agreement between Moldova and the EU that is under negotiation.
