This visit took place in the framework of the “European Week”, where ISUV is precisely one of the institutions that has undergone a radical transformation in infrastructure and laboratory capacities, as well as in human capacities thanks to training, to be empowered as an institution that stands at the heart of food safety.

Krifca thanked the European Commission for all the support given through various programs, which also include food safety.
“The supply of safe food shores up the economy, trade and tourism of a country, contributes to food security and promotes sustainable development,” said Krifca, who added that producers, processors, wholesalers and retailers, exporters and regulatory authorities have roles and responsibilities to ensure food safety across the food chain from farm to fork.

“For us, this very complex construction site requires awareness and large investments, which we are organizing according to EU directives, in intensive cooperation with European partners,” said Krifca.

The minister focused on a series of reforms that have been implemented to increase food safety in our country, as one of the government’s main priorities for consumer health protection.

“We enable a complete control of the territory in the field of plant and animal health control with more than 450 veterinarians on the ground to monitor livestock farming with free vaccination and registration, disease tracking, equipping slaughterhouses with service veterinarians and other services across the chain of control. We successfully finalized the 10-year plan for the sustainable use of pesticides. We strengthened the laboratory capacities, where more than 1.8 million euros were invested in ISUV alone for its modernization, we also recognized the excellence of these employees as assets for food safety, but also as scientific researchers, increasing their income by 30% in the year 2022. 1272 new tests were accredited for the first time, as we reduced by half operator waiting times and cut costs by 30%. We finalized the construction of the new plant health laboratory, the laboratory for heavy metal detection and olive oil analysis, etc. We are working together with our European partners on the action plan to slow the development of antibiotic resistance,” said Krifca.
The minister said that food safety is one of the challenging areas where we are laser focused on the pathway to EU integration.
“We are finalizing the food safety strategy for the next 5 years,” said Krifca, inviting the students of TAU to take the baton of this great work already underway and to contribute with dedication to the agriculture and livestock sector with innovations and priority to advance food safety and quality as a guarantee of safe markets.
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