17 January 2020

Pamela Byrne, CEO of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), visited Albania on 15-16 January, joining the team of the Food Safety Project in kicking off the 2020 Work Plan and meeting key Albanian officials.

In addition to her opening remarks at the Second Meeting of the Food Safety Project Steering Committee, Dr. Byrne met with Albanian Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Bledi Çuçi, her Albanian counterpart, Robert Lili, the Director General of the National Food Authority (AKU), and Armand Reveli, Director of the Food Safety and Veterinary Institute (ISUV), who hosted a joint meeting with colleagues from the Public Health Institute, underlining the importance of an integrated approach to food safety.

In her meetings in Albania, the FSAI CEO spoke about the commitment of the project to help strengthen Albania’s capacity to protect consumers and improve trade opportunities as Albania progresses in its bid to join the European Union.

Dr. Byrne discussed with the project team the 2020 Work Plan, which foresees an intensification of efforts to strengthen technical structures, increase public awareness, strengthen engagement with food business operators and improve legislation related to food safety, animal health, plant health and associated control systems in Albania. She noted that 2020 would be a crucial year for the project.

Running from January 2019 to January 2023, “Support to food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary standards” is a project financed by the EU and implemented by a consortium led by 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.