“Support to food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary standards” is an EU-funded project implemented by a consortium led by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). The implementing group also includes the Finnish Food Authority, the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and CBS Creative Business Solutions in Albania. The project has a total budget of 4,998,058 Euro and a duration of 57 months, with an operation period of 14 January 2019 to 30 October 2023.

The project aims to further strengthen the legislative framework, organisation, implementation capacity and procedures to ensure the protection of human, animal and plant health in a manner that is consistent with international best practices and Albania’s alignment with the EU acquis.

The overall objective of the project is “to contribute to the increased protection of human, animal and plant health at every stage of the food production process, through the establishment of institutional and administrative capacities in line with the overall public administration reform agenda”.

This objective helps to communicate the scope of project’s actions and importance of food safety in the broader context of the positive impact that it can have on the economy and the environment.

The general objective will be achieved through the following specific objectives:

Specific Objective 1: “To assist the restructuring of the relevant administrative structures and ensure the building of appropriate capacities to implement policy measures and archive strategic objectives in line with general public administration reform efforts and EU membership requirements”.

Specific Objective 2: “To raise public awareness ensuring that consumers are adequately informed about their choices, roles, responsibilities, and increasingly demand safe and high-quality food products”.

Specific Objective 3: “To help develop the necessary legal and institutional framework and design and implement the required policy measures to ensure progress towards strategic objectives in the field of food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary standards”.

• The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD)

• The National Food Authority (AKU)

• Food Safety and Veterinary Institute (ISUV)

• Other institutions: Regional Directorates of Agriculture, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment; Extension Service; Institute of Public Health; Municipalities

• Consumers and their representative organisations

• Farmers, producers, food business operators, animal feed producers/importers

• Agricultural University of Tirana and other education and research institutions; Agricultural Technology Transfer Centres

• The Food Safety Authority of Ireland

• The Finnish Food Authority

• The Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

• Creative Business Solutions - Albania