490Factories listed on the whitelist, 1,946 are pending

Chairman of the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA) Tarek el Houby:

We provide technical support to motivate companies in the food industry to enter the whitelist.

30 factories nominated to receive the delegation of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority

5,000 field visits organized to transfer the culture of food safety and effective communication with factories in 2022

Legislation and technical rules regulating the food safety system reviewed to enhance the access of Egyptian products to international markets.

An annual plan to ensure the safety of imported products according to the highest standards.

Chairman of the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA) Tarek el Houby said that the political leadership pays great attention to the issue of food security based on the premise that there is no food security without food safety. It was necessary for the National Food Safety Authority to ensure that the food produced, manufactured, distributed or traded in the market achieves the highest standards of safety, he said, adding that the authority relies on a supervisory framework based on scientific foundations, which makes it able to mitigate these obstacles.

Regarding the main axes of the authority’s work, el Houby told Commodity Market that it performs its supervisory role in the traditional way, such as inspecting facilities to ensure the application of controls and requirements and taking samples in cooperation with the relevant competent authorities concerned with food control in various stages of production to provide effective food control programs in favor of consumer health protection.

"In conjunction with the implementation of systematic campaigns, the authority aims to verify the compliance of imported products after release during their circulation in the local market, according to an annual plan set by the authority," he said.

el Houby stressed that the authority seeks to enhance and increase the competitiveness of Egyptian food exports by achieving effective control over the circulation of food in the local market to ensure its quality and safety, which supports the competitiveness of Egyptian products abroad by ensuring their conformity with international specifications and standards, and is also working to develop the production of food and agricultural products as one of the most important productive sectors of the Egyptian economy, which supports confidence in the safety and quality of Egyptian food and agricultural products and thus contributes to enhancing their access to regional and international markets.

He added that the authority does not hesitate to provide technical support to motivate companies in the food industries sector in Egypt to enter the white list, in order to ensure their commitment to applying the controls and requirements of the authority.

Whitelist

el-Houby said that the Food Safety Authority establishes controls and requirements that differ according to the nature of the establishment, which are added to the white list only after complying with a checklist on at least one unannounced visit.

All establishments are subject to the authority’s supervision in accordance with Law 1 of 2017 to activate control over food circulation and prevent the circulation of any food that may be harmful to health. Control over approved establishments continues at a rate according to the plan established and based on risk assessment.

He added that the number of factories registered in the white list during the last period amounted to 490 factories in all activities, while the number of factories that met the requirements of the authority to be included in the list reached 1946 factories.

Arab food market

Regarding the role played by the authority to qualify Egyptian companies to join the Arab food market, he explained that Egypt is the largest Arab food exporter and one of the most important countries working to strengthen and support the Arab food safety system, and supports the possibility of a joint Arab market for food to reach Arab economic unity and to keep pace with the requirements of economic development. He pointed out that the Food Safety Authority is the body entrusted with food control operations inside Egypt at all stages of the food supply chain, and sets and implements regulatory programs for that in a way that provides an appropriate environment for the development of the productive sector and supports confidence in the food product nationally and globally.

He stressed that the authority works to support and qualify Egyptian companies to access global markets, enhances ways of cooperation with employers and facility operators, and sets the necessary guidance on food safety regulatory measures to ensure sound practices and support a culture of health safety in accordance with the basic programs and preventive controls for food safety, noting that the authority is keen to harmonize the regulatory measures issued by them with the necessary operational requirements for operators of food establishments.

Access to global markets

He pointed out that the Authority develops and implements all procedures for food control operations based on best practices and international standards in the areas of food safety, whether in local markets or foods intended for export and works to review and update legislation and technical rules regulating the food safety system and activating the regulatory framework that supports it, to simplify the concepts of food safety requirements. The Authority is responsible for providing the current control environment that meets the requirements of the local and international markets to develop the Egyptian food product and enhance its access to global markets.

Saudi Market

el Houby said that the authority sought to support and promote Egyptian exports to the Saudi market as the largest importer of Egyptian food products, as it was agreed with Hisham Aljadhey, Executive President of Saudi Food & Drug Authority to facilitate the access of Egyptian products to the Saudi market. A remote inspection system was also included to facilitate the accreditation process in accordance with effective controls and standards. The files of pasteurized eggs and packaged fish of European origin approved by the Food and Drug Authority were also introduced.

"Currently, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority is studying the two files after all the details of the manufacturing steps were sent and the assessment of risk systems within food establishments, with a focus on the mechanism of tracking the primary supplier of pasteurized egg producers, which enhances the permeability of these products to the Saudi market," he said.

He added that two technical contact points have been identified from both sides to facilitate all matters related to accreditation and coordination effectively, and a list of 30 factories eligible for the visit has been sent out of a total of 100 factories, and a date for the visit is pending with the brothers in the Saudi Food and Drug Authority.