From meat and its by-products to eggs or dairy, along with vegetables and jams... food products sold in stores, markets and markets must be equipped with identification indicators called "lot" from January 1st of next year. The new instruction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development aims to establish a traceability system for food products at every link in the food chain, from production to sale.
"It is in itself a market demand. So, when a consumer wants a safe product and the manufacturer wants to produce a safe product... between the two is the certification link which in a way balances demand with supply. It is typical of market demand," Sokol Stafa, an expert in food product certification, tells A2 CNN.
Referring to the instruction published in the official gazette, the lot will be a code with letters or numbers, which is set by the manufacturer or processor. This indicator will enable the accurate identification of the production batch of a product and will assist the authorities in their control.
"We need to create a reliable infrastructure for our consumers. And as long as there are scandals, this objective has not yet been achieved. The inspectorate also does not provide guarantees. It is not very reliable," says Stafa.
Exceptions to this rule are agricultural products delivered directly to processing stations; products at the point of sale to the final consumer, when they are not pre-packaged; as well as very small packages, with a surface area of less than 10 cm².
"What is important is that the harmful residues in them are within permissible limits," says Stafa.
The implementation of this instruction has been entrusted to the General Directorate for Development in the Field of Food Safety and the National Food Authority, an institution recently at the center of criticism for failing to prevent salmonella-infected chickens from Brazil or pesticides-contaminated strawberries from Greece. (A2 Televizion)
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