26 June 2020

As part of an awareness campaign in cooperation with the EU-funded Food Safety Project, the National Food Authority (NFA) is distributing a package across the country to many Albanian food business operators to help them better deal with the COVID-19 measures as well as reopening for the tourist season.

The package contains an expert-written reopening guide, floor stickers for social distancing and hand disinfectants. The project also provided NFA inspectors with face masks and lab coats to use during their regular visits at food business operators.

“Thanks to the cooperation with the EU-funded Food Safety Project, NFA has continued to distribute protective materials as support for and cooperation with food entities to help them in implementing the measures taken by the Albanian government,” said NFA General Director Robert Lili during a visit to Durrës, where he was monitoring the implementation of measures taken by NFA against the spread of COVID-19 at food businesses.

In response to the COVID-19 situation, the Food Safety Project has shifted some of its activities to help Albanian beneficiaries like AKU address new needs that come from the global pandemic, including the drafting and publishing of a reopening guide for Albanian businesses as well as purchasing purpose-made 10,000 floor stickers, 3,200 large bottles of hand sanitizers, 600 masks and 600 lab coats for use by NFA.

The Food Safety 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.