The National Food Safety Agency (ANSA) implements a new project to strengthen its institutional capacities with the support of experts of the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority of Romania. The financing of €100,000 for the project is provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, IPN reports.

Within the project, local specialists will be trained to create a European animal health insurance system in Moldova. There will be carried out supervision and control activities, including as regards the implementation and development of laboratory methods, said ANSA vice director Grigore Porcescu. There will also be determined the efficiency of animal vaccination and financed the purchase of lab equipment and reactive substances.

Romania’s Ambassador in Chisinau Marius Lazurca said the assistance provided by Romania in the food safety sector became traditional. Over the last few years, there was implemented a project to improve the traceability of animals to the value of €300,000. Within another project, of €500,000, a lab for determining pesticide residues in plants, soil and products was created in Moldova.

Ladislau Miko, vice director general of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection (DG- SANCO), said that Moldova, after the coming into force of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement a year ago, increased the export of products of vegetal origin to the EU market. Effort is now made to ensure the EU quotas on the export of products of animal origin are used. “There are yet several steps that need to be taken in this regard. We came to discuss them with the competent authorities of Moldova,” stated the European official.

Of the products of animal origin, Moldova exports to the EU only honey and powdered eggs now. It is expected that in half a year Moldova will also be able to export fresh eggs (category B, for processing) and then poultry.