14 July 2020 [shqip]

Best food safety practices for retailers, meeting regulatory obligations and dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were the focus of a workshop for supermarket managers held today in Tirana, led by officials of Albania’s National Food Authority. The Food Safety Project joined the participants, offering expert input and training materials.

Vanessa Cooling, an international food safety specialist with the Food Safety Project explained that COVID-19 hasn’t changed basic food safety requirements but there must be renewed focus on cleaning and personal hygiene to help prevent the spread of the virus.

She reiterated the importance of food safety training as a way of reducing the risk of what can go wrong in a food business and thus ensuring safer food for consumers.

The Food Safety Project provided three documents to workshop participants, dealing with basic food hygiene training for employees as well as issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The training guide was originally published by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and was translated and adapted for Albania by the Food Safety Project.

The Food Safety Project (“Support to food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary standards”) is funded by the European Union 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.