By Ibrahim Mohamed
The Information Centre of the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA) issued its 39 weekly report for the period from 28 October to 3 November, where Dr. Tariq Al-Hobi, Chairman of the National Food Safety Authority, participated in the first Scientific Forum of the National Nutrition Science Committee and the Egyptian Food Safety Association, held in Scientific Research and Technology Academy titled “Food quality and safety between research and application”.
This came in the framework of the role of scientific research in the development of techniques for the production of healthy and safe food.
During the meeting, Al-Hobi reviewed the role played by NFSA in providing healthy and safe food for citizens, as well as the advantages offered by it to attract more food industry owners, especially small and medium industries, which in turn reflects positively on Egypt’s food safety system, as well as the promotion of Egyptian food exports and their access to international markets.
Al-Hobi also spoke about the Authority’s role in issuing binding technical rules of its own legislative nature, as well as reviewing the systems and mechanisms for the control of the chain of food production and circulation, including the withdrawal of samples on scientific grounds in accordance with the risk analysis for compatibility with economic, social and environmental variables.
During the forum, Hobi, emphasised the importance of linking the system of higher education and scientific research with the mechanisms of implementing food safety in Egypt by graduating scientifically and practically qualified generations capable of effectively and robustly managing the system of food safety.
Also, the Authority participated in the implementation of the second phase of training for the programme “Sustainable Training Mission on Pesticide Residue in Egypt STM”, which is concerned with the registration and application of pesticides to agricultural crops prepared for export to the European Union, coordinated within the framework of an initiative “Better training for safer food” (BTSF), supported by the European Union and with the participation of a Spanish expert to do the training, during the period October 29-31.
It is worth mentioning that this comes within the framework of the constructive role of the Authority to raise the capacity of the inspectors of the National Food Safety Authority and create effective and productive cadres in this sector.
The programme involved trainees from a number of agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, as well as a number of major exporters of EU agricultural crops; In coordination with the Agricultural Crops Export Board and with support from TAIB project funded by USDA.
As part of the efforts of the branches of the Authority to tighten and the control of food facilities in compliance with the directives of the President of NFSA, a number of inspection campaigns have been carried out in the governorates of Menoufia, Dakahlia and Damietta to ensure the safety of the food products offered and to preserve the health of consumers in the different governorates.
Last week, Saudi Arabia and Thailand represented the largest recipient of Egyptian exports, then Somalia and Algeria, out of a total of 150 importing countries.
