The public debate on the Law on Official Controls has begun

Today, the public debate on the Law on Official Controls begins and lasts until September 30, when a round table will be held in the Palace of Serbia, and attendance will be open to everyone, announced Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Milica Neđić at the meeting of the Alliance for Food and Agriculture in NALED.

She announced that the line ministry plans to pass a total of 16 laws by the end of the year, of which 11 are in the process.

The key novelty of the Law on Official Controls is that supervision will be carried out without prior notice, except in cases where the notice is necessary and justified for the purposes of the official control itself. In this way, the efficiency and detection of possible irregularities in the real state will be increased.

This law introduces a system of checks that will be carried out throughout the entire chain of food production in the country, according to the principle from the field, where food is grown, to the table, where it is consumed, as well as a system of control of imported food.

- The new Law on Official Controls will define the duties of inspectors much better. They will no longer perform only inspection supervision, but supervision of official control, which includes inspection and monitoring and issuing of certificates. Control based on risk assessment will become mandatory. The intensity of the controls will depend on the risk assessment, prepared self-control plans and the fulfillment of hygiene conditions by the producer - explained Tamara Bošković, head of the Veterinary Public Health Department of the Veterinary Administration.

Nebojša Milosavljević, director of the Plant Protection Administration, spoke about the amendments to the Food Safety Act and stated that the obligations of all participants in the food chain will be more clearly defined, and the supervision system will be strengthened through a more precise division of competences and responsibilities of institutions.

- A significant change is the separation of the area of ​​animal feed from that law, which will be regulated by a special regulation in accordance with the need for clearer regulation and better application. By adopting that law and by-laws, Serbia will fully harmonize its regulations with the relevant acts of the European Union - said Milosavljević.

As far as the field of animal feed is concerned, it has so far been governed by a number of different regulations, which has made the effectiveness of risk control and supervision difficult.

Of particular importance will be the establishment of a system for tracking the origin and traceability of animal feed, as well as regulating the area of ​​registration and approval of facilities where animal feed is produced.

The law will also introduce rules on labeling and advertising to avoid misleading consumers.