Url: Food Safety in EU and Slovakia at Very High Level

Url: Food Safety in EU and Slovakia at Very High Level

Bratislava, September 27 (TASR) – Food safety in the EU and Slovakia is at a very high level, said European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) general director Bernard Url in Bratislava on Tuesday.

Url is on a working trip to Bratislava to attend a session of the EFSA Advisory Forum on September 28-29.

New risks in food safety are linked to the global trade that ushers in new safety standards of countries from which the food comes, said Url. “Canada has high food safety standards and doesn’t bring new threats to Europe,” noted Url in reference to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which should be signed by the EU and Canada in October.

However, EFSA chief refused to comment on CETA. “CETA, just like TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) with the USA, is being prepared as a trade agreement. We’re in charge of food safety, it’s not our work to assess agreements. Our task is to provide food safety for European citizens; we’ll always watch over that,” added Url.

The press conference of the EFSA director was also attended by Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry (MPRV) State Secretary Gabriel Csicsai, MPRV’s food industry and trade section general director Zuzana Nouzovska and MPRV’s food and nutrition safety department Zuzana Birosova.

EFSA was established in response to a series of food scandals in the EU in 1990s. It is based in the Italian city of Parma and it’s aim is to provide scientific evaluation of risks, communication about risks, scientific consultancy for EU’s legal regulations and policies in the area of food safety.