15 January 2020

The EU-funded Food Safety Project will intensify efforts to strengthen technical structures, increase public awareness and improve legislation related to food safety in Albania, according to discussions at the Second Meeting of the Project Steering Committee, which took place on 15 January 2020.

The meeting, held at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD), was chaired by Deputy Minister Emira Gjeçi and also attended by the heads and key staff of beneficiary institutions, including the National Food Safety Authority (AKU) General Director Robert Lili and the Institute of Food Safety and Veterinary (ISUV) Director Armand Reveli.

The project, “Support to food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary standards”, is 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 Creative Business Solutions (CBS) in Albania.

Visiting Tirana for the occasion, FSAI CEO Pamela Byrne spoke about the importance of the project in strengthening Albania’s capacities to protect Albanian consumers and improve trade opportunities.

Project Team Leader Michael Parker noted that agreeing to a reform agenda with the beneficiaries is a prerequisite for capacity building.

His presentation highlighted the project’s work in 2019 and discussed the project’s plans for 2020, which is seen as a crucial period for the four-year project’s implementation.