Filenews 1 July 2024 - by Angelos Nicolaou
Twenty years after the relevant decision was taken by the Council of Ministers for the creation of a Food Safety Authority, it seems that the time is ripe to proceed with its implementation.
A relevant bill entitled "The Establishment of a Cyprus Food Safety Authority Law of 2024" has been prepared, which has been put to public consultation until July 31, 2024. The bill seeks to put an end to the proliferation of food safety services by putting it under one umbrella: the Cyprus Food Safety Authority. The aim is to coordinate and control the effectiveness of the food safety system of Cyprus, to protect public health and safeguard the right of citizens to access safe, healthy and high quality food.
The process of creating a Food Safety Authority never proceeded mainly due to the strong concerns, justified or not, of the services involved. Concerns that apparently stemmed from the lack of sufficient knowledge and experience in relation to the operation of single and independent food safety authorities in Europe and internationally. The vast majority of EU Member States and third countries trading partners of the EU have made institutional changes for the creation of independent and uniform food safety authorities at national level, which have proven in practice effective and efficient since their many years of operation.
Cyprus, being the only EU country that does not have a National Food Safety Authority, has become a pole of attraction for the marketing of food and products of dubious quality. Typically, problematic imported batches that were shipped only to our country have been identified.
The economic crisis has also contributed to this, with consumers trying to save money to cover their very important needs looking for food at attractive prices. As a result, this has led to an upsurge in fraud cases in Cyprus as well, with fraudsters taking advantage of the fact that these issues are a low priority by the competent authorities, despite the serious risks they pose to our health. Products that reach our plates may pose the most serious risks to our health. Dioxins, spongiform encephalopathy, banned colourants, melamine in milk powder, beef has been replaced with horsemeat, and there are other types of fraud involving adulteration of olive oil, honey and alcoholic beverages.
Through the creation of a Food Safety Authority, all stakeholders will cooperate, the entire food chain including food and feed will be controlled, policy and strategy will be formulated for food safety, feed, animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products. This effort aims at a high level of protection of human life and health of citizens since the Authority will be responsible for food and feed safety from primary production to consumption.
In Cyprus, the issue of creating a food safety authority was first raised in 2003. At that time, the Council of Ministers decided to establish the Food Safety Council, as a coordinating body for the planning and coordination of the control activities applied by the various services and bodies of the state sector as well as for assessing the adequacy of these controls. This Council coordinated the food safety control programs of the competent or authorized services, which are the Health Services of the Ministry of Health and the corresponding services of the Municipalities, the General Chemical State Laboratory, the Veterinary Services and the Department of Agriculture. However, the absence of executive powers and statutory powers did not allow it to be effective in coordinating programmes and actions, while it is clearly lagging behind in planning and policy formulation at national level in the very crucial area of food safety. As a result, the Food Safety Council has not been able to correct long-standing problems and weaknesses as any decisions are not binding.
