By Ibrahim Mohamed
As part of its follow-up to the authority’s branches in various ports. The Chairman of the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA), Tareq EL-HOUBY, visited the headquarters and office of the authority in the port of Nuweiba, where he was received by the Head of the Central Administration of the port of Nuweiba, Tareq el Sayed, who accompanied him during the inspection visit.
EL-HOUBY began its tour by visiting the Central Laboratory of the National Food Safety Authority at the headquarters of the port of Nuweiba and confirmed that the laboratory is one of the most important model laboratories constructed by the Authority under the guidance of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.
In addition, the qualified workers of the lab will conduct the tests through a series of training programmes in accordance with the latest methods of analysis in order to accelerate the procedures for examining food messages either exported or received from and to the Egyptian market and reduce the time of customs release in accordance with the directives of Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli in this regard.
EL-HOUBY noted that the implementation stages of the infrastructure have been completed, that operational equipment is nearing completion, and that the lab conducts analyses of various food and agricultural crops, such as the analysis of residual pesticides in vegetables, fruit, and chemical contaminants, as well as microbiological analyses in food.
Lab’s capacity is expected to reach approximately 23 thousand samples per year, ensuring the safety and security of goods before entering local markets, which in turn reflects the commitment of the Authority and its endeavour to provide its services at standard levels with a view to enhancing interaction with customers and facilitating its clients in line with international standards, EL-HOUBY said.
He stressed that NFSA’s labs are working hard to co-operate with government and private laboratories in order to bring Egypt’s food and agricultural industries to the highest levels of conformity with food safety requirements.
He completed the field tour by meeting the staff of the Authority’s branch in the port of Nuweiba and was directed to increase the effort of the inspectors and provide an immediate response to the rapid examination of incoming and exported food messages.
EL-HOUBY noted that NFSA’s desire is to raise the efficiency and skills of its inspectors by holding training courses on an ongoing basis to raise the efficiency of the human component and to familiarise them with the latest methods and reference materials used in laboratories.
It is worth mentioning that this visit comes within the framework of the follow-up of EL-HOUBY to the branches of the Authority at various ports.
This came in light of the Authority’s efforts to co-operate and coordinate with customs port and port agencies to speed up work and reduce cost and time to achieve the highest level of competitiveness of Egypt’s exports in global markets and the safety of our food imports.
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